Echoes
by reddwarfaddict
Summary: After receiving a message from his future self and fleeing Torchwood in a hurry, the Doctor turns up on the Master's doorstep three months later with utterly no memory of who he is, how he got there, or what happened to him and his family. TenRose, TenWhump / H/C
1. A Night To Remember

**A/N: VERY IMPORTANT: **So this is the marginally anticipated sequel to Mother's Nature. I spent a very long time in-between essays the other night trying to summarise all the previous stories in this series for people who didn't read/needed a memory refresh. A LOT of things have happened in this series, so it took a rather long time to write. But, obviously, as soon as I finished there was a crash and I lost all of it. So yes, I'm not going to write that again on the off-chance someone needs it. So if you need a memory rebuff let me know and I'll fill in your gaps. You also might want to read the end of **Mother's Nature** for a reminder of where we left off.

Hopefully it's not going to be too complicated since it's an amnesia fic so you'll learn it as the Doctor learns it. Maybe. Hopefully.

The story order goes:

1. Destiny  
2. Paroxysmic  
3. The Debt  
4. Mother's Nature  
5. Echoes

I don't know how quick I'm going to get this written and I normally wait until I've done a good few chapters before I start posting but frankly I'm bored of waiting :o

* * *

Chapter 1 – A Night To Remember

"_This is an automatic activation of emergency program two. Doctor, listen to me very carefully. This is a Code Ten. You have to do exactly as I tell you, or everything will be lost."_

* * *

For the first time in about six months, the sun was shining over Daufor.

The tiny coastal village in the west of Wales was the most unlikely place to find a Time Lord, but it was where the Master had taken his residence for the past year or so. It was sort of perfect for him, he'd found. No screaming children, barely any traffic, and not much in the way of people except for an apparently gay red-headed man who seemed to eye him up every time he walked near his house.

He was outside for once; sitting at the silly little metal table sipping at some Pimms and just letting his mind wander through a menagerie of topics… But, as always, his thoughts inevitably turned to the Doctor.

It wasn't that the Master wanted to be the only Time Lord left in existence, oh no. It wasn't that at all. It was just that of all the Time War survivors there could have been – Morbius, Rani, the Meddling Monk – it just _had _to be the Doctor. That annoying, precocious, self-appointed King of the humans Theta 'Doctor' Sigma.

Even the _thought_ of the Doctor made his teeth itch, but he took solace in the fact that the other Time Lord right at the present moment wasn't having as much fun as the Master was. The Doctor right now was probably either sat there watching a human children's cartoon or being harassed by his cross-species offspring screaming in his ears. Or both.

No, the Doctor was having a rubbish day.

Probably.

He took another hearty sip of Pimms, smiling to himself at the thought. The movement was so hearty and his mind so far away that the glass slipped straight from his fingers and onto the table, where it fell onto its side and rolled off to hit the concrete with a smash. But he'd already stopped paying attention to that, as some sort of high-pitched whistling was coming from directly overhead. He looked up into the cloudless blue sky to see a strange, small black shape heading downwards; plummeting to the ground at exceptionally high-speed…

He got out of his chair, following it with his eyes and trying to predict where it would land. The field right next to his house was the obvious assumption so he strode to the side gate and leapt over, narrowly avoiding the ditch of mud.

As the object neared, it was getting slightly bigger, and also slightly faster. He could see the printed writing on the side now – the carvings of the universal language Uniuxian. Escape pod 45, it read. This was a crash. Not that he could do anything to prevent that, so he just stood there waiting for the inevitable _thud_ of metal on grass.

But when it came, it was less of a thud, and more of a loud, tearing, rip-bang-wallop of a crash. The entire escape pod split apart like a peeled banana, and out toppled the one person the Master did _not_ want to see.

The Doctor.

He sighed, waiting for the other alien to rise, dust himself off and go and save a human or forty, but the Doctor didn't move. He was just lying there on the grass, and very soon the sure stain of blood began to creep around him. The Doctor was hurt. Quite badly, by the looks of things.

The Master moved toward the other Time Lord, still somehow anticipating him to get up at any moment. The Master got closer, and closer, until he was standing a foot away. He knelt down and prodded the Doctor's side with the tip of his finger.

The Doctor didn't react.

He could see the damage now, a bit of the escape pod jutting into the Doctor just under his shoulder. But that seemed to be the worst of it. That was treatable.

For a moment he just stared at the Doctor, lying there completely helpless. Fleeting thoughts crossed the Master's mind. He could do whatever he damn well pleased with the Doctor now. He _could_ torture him. Or tie him up. Make him his slave. Have a little fun – just like the Year That Never Was.

This was _surely _the best present _ever?_

* * *

He didn't bother cleaning up the escape pod, knowing the humans would probably find it themselves and have a minor breakdown, which was always amusing to watch. He took the Doctor straight in and up the stairs into the spare room, laying him down on the bed. It had been a _very _long time since he'd been in this sort of control of the Doctor, and he absolutely loved it. The little Staazula thought he'd had the last word, but oh no. He wasn't going anywhere, not this time. That irritating blonde and the freak would have to come and find him first. It was just pure fun, really.

He made sure the Doctor wasn't going anywhere by tying his wrists and his ankles to the bed-frame, and checking for that annoying sonic screwdriver of his. But the Doctor didn't have it on him. In fact, he didn't have anything on him. Whatever he'd been escaping from… He'd left very, very fast.

The Master would have to heal him, anyway. He examined the other Time Lord over in full – mostly superficial, apart from the site where the metal strut that had gone through which was still bleeding. The Master was a little annoyed that the Doctor was bleeding all over his spare bed, but conceded that there wasn't really anywhere else to put him before going off for some medical supplies.

When he returned the Doctor still wasn't awake, which was a little odd seeing as he clearly wasn't in a healing coma. The Master managed to stop all the bleeding and stitch up the cuts, and even stop the bleeding from the impalement near his shoulder. He was finished by 6pm, and hungry, so he left the unconscious Doctor to go downstairs.

* * *

He had half expected to hear the Doctor's usual pleas of "listen to me!" and "you're better than this!" and "you have a choice!" to start up before midnight. But they didn't.

The Master did his usual evening of trolling internet forums and cynically watching human television before he checked the room at 2am – but the Doctor was still asleep.

He kept progressively checking the Doctor through the night and into the morning. He hadn't moved an inch. The Master had tried to enter the other Time Lord's mind to kick it into consciousness, but the Doctor didn't really appear to have much going on in his mind.

By the time it hit 3pm - an entire day since the Master had found the Doctor – he _still _hadn't so much as twitched. The Master changed all his bandages and sat by him for a while, still trying to get into his mind. He had _no_ idea what was wrong with it. The feeling he got from the Doctor's mind was very, very new. Very strange.

* * *

11pm. The Doctor was clearly in a very bad way and though the Master would never admit it, he was actually starting to get a bit worried. So much that for a fleeting moment he considered phoning the immortal freak, Blondie or someone else. In fact, where were they? _Surely _they would be here to save their Messiah by now?

Either way, the Doctor needed a bitof a helping hand, and the Master wasn't about to let him die this easily and pointlessly. So he made some soup and tried feeding it to the Doctor, but it just ran all down his face as he didn't even swallow. Tea was even more messy. He had no gag reflex, or even any reaction to pain.

The Master didn't understand at all what had happened to the Doctor to reduce him to such a level of helplessness. He'd never seen anything like it – and he had no idea how to fix it. It was as though the Doctor's entire body had gone into some sort of strange hibernation that wasn't anything Gallifreyan.

* * *

The next day at 5pm, the Master finally heard mutterings from the Doctor's room. He jogged in, only to find the Doctor twisting and turning on the bed, sweat on his forehead, muttering incoherently. He was obviously in some kind of nightmare. At least it was a development.

The Master quickly moved to stoop over him, just in time for the Doctor's eyes to snap open faster than a gunshot – and he let out the loudest scream the Master had ever heard in all his lives. It took him completely by surprise, so when he'd finally managed to recover the Doctor was trying desperately to get up.

"Doctor!" the Master cried, pushing down on him. "Stop, stop moving!"

"Get off!" the Doctor screamed in return, before realising he was tied down and his head whipped to the Master, his eyes wide. The Master would recognise that look anywhere. They were eyes of utter terror. "Let me go!"

"Doctor, it's me!" the Master yelped, utterly wrong-footed by what was happening. "Relax!"

The Doctor didn't, continuing to thrash and scream with both fear and pain. The Master had no choice but to grab his head in mid-movement and send a shot right through his mind. The Doctor fell back instantly, gasping for breath with his body suddenly unable to move. He watched through sunken, terrified eyes as the Master moved around the bed and pulled up a chair.

"That was entertaining," the Master began, the devious smile returning. "Not seen that one from you before. I like the originality, though."

"… Who are you?" the Doctor croaked, barely able to get the words out.

The Master's smile turned abruptly to a frown. Though it _did _explain a few things. "Hmm, a little head trouble?"

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked again with forced strength. "Where am I? What have you… done to me?"

The Master raised an eyebrow. "Bit of amnesia, then. It's me, Doctor. The Master, remember? You're in my house."

"I don't know you," the Doctor breathed.

"Oh, it'll all come flooding back, Doctor, I'm sure," the Master assured him.

"Why'd you keep calling me Doctor?" the Doctor groaned out.

For a moment there was utter silence as the Master took those words in.

"... By Rassilon," he breathed, completely stunned. "You're the Doctor. You remember, don't you?"

"No, I don't," the Doctor gasped. "Why… Why can't I move?"

"I… shot your mind, you'll be okay in a few minutes," the Master said slowly, staring at the other Time Lord in complete disbelief. To his complete astonishment a tear suddenly rolled down the Doctor's cheek – a tear of fright, pain, anger and confusion.

"Let me go… Please don't hurt me…" the Doctor begged, crying.

The Master was suddenly horrified – a feeling he hadn't had in a _very_ long time. "Doctor… Doctor… shush," he implored, begging with him as the gravitas of the situation hit him like a hammer to the face. "It's okay, you're safe. I'm not going to hurt you."

"What's going on?" the Doctor sobbed.

"I don't know, I found you in a crashed ship and saved you. But you've lost your memories. I don't know how this has happened but I'm going to figure something out, all right? I just need you to trust me."

"How do I know_…_ you're not lying?" the Doctor demanded to know.

"You don't," the Master conceded. "But please, let me help you. Just calm down and stay still, I'm going to untie you."

He did so, aware of the Doctor's gaze fixed on him; watching his every move as he untied the other Time Lord, carefully. The Doctor looked to all the world like he wanted to get up and run a mile, but his body was still paralysed from the mind shot. So as the Master checked his head he just watched, completely tensed up.

"What happened... to-to my shoulder?" he whined.

"The escape pod broke apart and went into your shoulder," the Master told him. "Try not to move it it too much."

"O-okay," the Doctor gasped.

Satisfied, the Master drew back from his head, trying to hide his surprise. There was no damage to his head inside, apart from the weirdness, and the Doctor was still crying. His arch enemy, lying there crying his eyes out.

Well, it was certainly awkward.

"I'll get you something to eat," the Master muttered, and left the room as quickly as he could.

* * *

This was serious. Incredibly serious. So much so the Master knew there was only one thing he could really do, and it was probably the last thing he wanted to do too.

He went to the phone, and dialled his favourite number. It picked up in two rings.

"_Harkness," _the familiar voice of the Freak replied.

The Master cleared his throat, and tried to sound a bit friendlier than he was accustomed to. "Hello, it's your friendly Time Lord Welsh neighbour, the Master here..."

"_Fuck off, Master."_

"Well, that's nice," the Master replied insincerely. "I think you might actually want to listen to me, though."

"_He wants nothing to do with you. Go to hell."_

Jack hung up.

The Master sighed, and put the phone back down before looking down the hall – only to find the Doctor leaning against the wall holding his shoulder, staring at him.

"What were you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing," the Master grunted, pushing straight past him to go down the stairs. He very quickly realised the Doctor was annoyingly following him like an obedient dog, so he led him to the kitchen.

"Food's in there," he gestured to the cupboard, grabbing a fork from the drawer. "Stay here, don't go wandering."

"Why not?" the Doctor wondered, looking at the cupboard vaguely.

"It's not safe, not for you," the Master said, moving to the back door. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Where are you going?" the Doctor asked, suddenly anxious.

"Out," the Master muttered in reply, and left.

* * *

He got to the crash site, a little surprised that absolutely no humans were gathered around it screaming yet. He picked and climbed his way through the metal debris to get to the computer, which looked completely dead. Regardless, he levered the device out with the fork, and reached in to take the black box. A further fiddle with the laser screwdriver linked the two, and the screen miraculously came to life.

**ERROR-ERROR-ERROR **the screen told him.

He whacked the base of the device with his palm, and it sprung into life.

**BLACK BOX FILES – SP/EP: 109-45**

The Master frowned slightly. The escape pod was from the Shadow Proclamation. What had the Doctor been doing there? They weren't exactly on good terms.

**Analysing files... Complete**

**87% file corruption. See available data? Y/N**

He hit **Y**, and waited.

**BLACK BOX FILES – SP/EP: 109-45**

**Journey details:**

**Origin Point – Registered: Shadow Proclamation, Dock 3/109/45, 14.1/07**

**Destination Point – Custom Input: Sol 3, ****52.799687****° N, ****-4.507034****° W,**** 20.8/07**

**Journey profile:**

**Pod activated**

**Custom destination input**

**Estimated journey time calculated**

**Stasis query – occupant confirm – stasis activated**

**Severe malfunction (see below)**

**Malfunctions:**

**Power cell supply nil – catastrophic error**

**Action Taken:**

**Occupant alert unsuccessful – occupant unresponsive**

**Emergency landing protocol initiated automatically**

**-END-**

**Repeat? Y/N**

The Master hit **N**, and frowned again. He could start building a picture, now. The Doctor had gotten into the escape pod at the Shadow Proclamation, and for some reason had programmed to land _right_ next to the Master's house. He had then gone into stasis, travelled for twelve Earth years to his destination, before somewhere along the way the power cells had died and that had caused the crash landing. The escape pod had tried to warn him but he had not responded, which could only have meant he was either an amnesiac before the crash and had no idea what to do, or he had been unconscious.

But why had he programmed to land here? Where were his family? What had he even been _doing _in the Shadow Proclamation? And last, but by no means least, _what _had caused the amnesia? The only reason the Master could see was possibly stasis sickness, but this was far too severe for that.

The Master was intrigued, despite how hard he was trying not to care. He pulled out the black box, shoved it in his pocket, got up and began trudging back to his house.

He was only halfway when a thought occurred to him that stopped him dead in his tracks. The Doctor had been in this pod for twelve years, but he'd last seen him around five months ago. That could mean it had only been days since he'd left here – hours, even.

It was fairly likely that the reason the minions hadn't come to save their Messiah was actually because they had _no_ idea that he was even missing.


	2. Blondie, Girly and the Freak

**A/N: **Yayyy! People remembeeeer! :D Welcome one and welcome all to the corners of my mind. Pull up a beanbag and help yourself to the minstrels. Ignore the penguin in the corner. He's always like that.

What? Yeah.

* * *

Chapter 2 – Blondie, Girly and the Freak

He found the Doctor in the kitchen, staring at something on the kitchen worktop with his head twisted sideways. The moment the Master entered he looked up, his brow furrowed.

"What is this, Master?" he asked, pointing at the contraption with the face of a two-year-old in true wonder.

"A toaster," the Master replied abruptly, annoyed. "Sit down."

The Doctor did, almost instantly. This was strange. Far too strange. He was doing _exactly _what the Master said...

Trying to shrug that off, the Master moved to the cupboard. "Okay, I'm going to have to take you home. I don't care enough for this."

"But I like it here," the Doctor protested.

"You're not staying."

"But..."

"Shut up, drink this," the Master said, putting a glass of suspicious-looking water down in front of the other Time Lord. It was so incredibly suspicious that even a four-year-old would've questioned it, but not the Doctor apparently. He drank it without question.

It only took about three seconds. With nothing but a quiet squeak the Doctor dropped the cup, closed his eyes and collapsed forward onto the table – knocked out instantly by the drug.

"That was too easy," the Master grunted, picking up the cup before staring at the Doctor, lying there completely helpless. This was not his enemy. This was some pathetic, idiotic, crippled version of him, and there was no way the Master was going to make it so easy for himself. He couldn't take advantage of this.

The phone began to ring from the hall, and instantly the Master frowned. It could only be the Freak, calling back to beg for an apology.

He sighed and went to the hall to pick up.

"Realised your mistake?" the Master wondered cynically, but it wasn't the Freak that replied.

"_Hello, our records state you may be entitled to claim PPI!" _a young man said boldly. _"Have you taken out a loan or credit card within the past..."_

"Stop calling here!" the Master yelled, and slammed the phone down. Bloody humans.

* * *

The groan was what signified that the Doctor was coming to. The Master sighed, having enjoyed the peace and quiet for the three hours prior. That was the end of that, then.

He kept his eyes on the road and his hands on the steering wheel, just listening to the Doctor's movements as he came to.

"Master?" he asked, the word slightly slurred.

"Hmm," was all the Master replied to that.

"Why am I tied up?"

"Insurance," the Master answered simply.

"Where are we going?"

"I told you. I'm taking you home."

"But I want to stay with you."

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Doctor, be quiet."

"No. I want to stay."

"We should not even be having this conversation!" the Master insisted. "You don't remember me at _all_, do you? I'm not your friend, not in the _slightest_, so I'm taking you to someone who can actually be bothered to deal with you being like this!"

"But that sort of makes you a friend," the Doctor pointed out. "You're taking me somewhere safe."

"Don't get smart," the Master spat, annoyed. "You always were annoyingly pedantic."

"You could have left me to die," the Doctor continued.

"I'd rather you died when you actually know it's me who's killing you," the Master grated. "Now be quiet."

Blissful silence descended on the car for a good few seconds... but the Master didn't relax. He could feel the Doctor staring at him.

"Stop looking at me," the Master ordered maliciously.

He felt the Doctor's eyes instantly move off of him, and relaxed slightly.

The silence only lasted about a minute.

"Where's my home?" the Doctor suddenly asked.

"With Blondie, Girly, the Freak and your various annoying spawn.

"I don't remember those people."

The Master rolled his eyes, aggravated. "I don't care. Be quiet."

A two minute silence followed this time. The Master knew it was far too good to be true. It was.

"Where are we?" the Doctor wondered.

"Doctor, if you don't shut your mouth I'll shut it for you."

Thankfully this time he took the hint. He did indeed shut his mouth, and didn't say anything for the rest of the trip.

* * *

They arrived in Cardiff Bay around 10pm.

The Master practically dragged the Doctor to the little shop that served as the entrance to Torchwood, bursting through the door and ringing the bell insistently. Very quickly Ianto appeared, smiling a broad smile – at least until he saw who it was, at which point his face quite abruptly fell.

"Get that annoying black-haired one out here, would you," the Master demanded more than asked, keeping a firm hold of the Doctor's collar as though he were a dog.

Ianto ran off instantly, and around ten seconds later Jack appeared, looking very annoyed.

"Doctor, over here," Jack gestured, arm out.

"What?" the Doctor asked, confused. "Who are you?"

Jack frowned at his words, hateful eyes snapping to the Master. "What have you done!?"

"Look, I didn't come here to make small talk, take this thing," the Master grunted, shoving the Doctor forward to the Captain who caught him.

"If you've hurt him you're dead," Jack grated, hand hovering over his gun with the other holding the Doctor's arm with care.

"Oh, you always jump to conclusions," the Master sighed. "I've done nothing. In fact, I'm trying to help you. Black box from the crashed escape pod I found him in, it's quite an interesting read." He threw a package onto the counter. "Take it or leave it, I don't care, he's your problem now."

"Rubbish. Get the hell out."

"Good bye to you too," the Master said sarcastically, and left out of the door.

Jack watched him from a moment, making sure he was truly gone before turning to the Doctor, checking him over. He was slightly bruised and cut up, and his clothes were wrecked.

"You all right? Where's Rose and the kids?"

"Who are you?" the Doctor repeated, ignoring the question.

Jack laughed. "Yeah, very funny. You can drop it now, he's gone. Where are they?"

The Doctor just stared at him in response, obviously very confused.

Jack suddenly felt very apprehensive at his expression. "Stop messing about, I've seen right through you," he tried to joke.

"What?" the Doctor asked, still confused.

A strange kind of coldness rapidly made its way through Jack. He was playing around, surely?

"Doctor..." Jack began, wary. "What's my name?"

The Doctor didn't break his gaze, his eyes narrowing, his head tilting... "I don't know...?"

Jack swallowed, and then nodded decisively. "Okay, amnesia. I'm Jack, I'm a friend. We'll sort this, c'mon."

He guided the Doctor past a very tense-looking Ianto and into the Hub, where Martha was standing, waiting.

"Doctor!" she cried, running to him.

The Doctor suddenly flinched and backed away slightly, holding up his arms to stop Martha. Martha halted in her tracks, blinking in surprise before she looked questioningly at Jack.

"I think it's amnesia," Jack told her. "Take it slow."

"Amnesia?" the Doctor repeated, struggling to get his mouth around the word. "Am I ill?"

"You've forgotten a few things, that's all," Jack replied.

"What have I forgotten?"

"Well, let's find out," Martha said. "Do you remember me?"

"No," he said, still apprehensive.

"... Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"Well you're in Torchwood, you're safe here, we'll look after you," she told him patiently. "If you have any questions, just ask us, all right?"

"Can I ask one now?"

"Yeah?"

"What planet is this?"

Jack and Martha looked at each other for a moment, utter horror coursing through them at the Doctor's words. He saw their look, his eyes flickering between them.

"Sorry, should I not have asked that?" the Doctor asked anxiously.

"No, no it's fine. You're on Earth, planet Earth," Martha told him gently. "You call it Sol 3."

Jack was just staring at the Doctor in complete despair. "What the hell has he done to you?" he moaned, hugging him caringly. "Don't worry, we'll fix this."

"The Master didn't do anything," the Doctor insisted. "He's my friend!"

"Jesus," Jack muttered, putting his hand on his head before looking at Martha. "Martha, this is scaring me."

"Me too," Martha agreed in a murmur, moving forward to the Doctor. "I'm Martha," she said by way of introduction. "I used to travel in your Tardis with you."

"What's a Tardis?" the Doctor asked blankly.

Jack swore under his breath, and Martha quickly smiled to reassure the Doctor.

"Don't worry, we'll explain later," she said gently. "I'd like to check you over if that's okay? Make sure you're healthy and do a head scan."

"A what?"

"A head scan," she repeated slowly and clearly. "I'll put you in a machine and check to see whether you've got any damage to your head that might have caused the amnesia."

"Oh, okay," the Doctor replied absently, nodding.

A few seconds later Mickey appeared, ducking his head out from behind a bank of computers.

"Doctor!" he realised, getting up to go to the crowd... but very quickly picked up on the fact that no one seemed to be smiling. "What?"

"We're taking the Doctor to the Med Bay," Martha explained with wide eyes, urging him to catch on.

"Can't he go himself?" were the exact words Mickey was _about_ to say, but one look at the Doctor made him stop himself instantly. He didn't look... right. Vacant. This was him outwardly, but through those eyes Mickey could see no sign of a spark. No intelligence. No comprehension.

Absolutely nothing.

He knew pretty much instantly what was wrong.

"C'mon, Doctor," he said instead, taking his arm. "I'm Mickey."

"Nice to meet you," the Doctor said pleasantly.

Mickey glanced at Jack, who was standing there staring at the Doctor as though wounded. He couldn't blame him. Usually Mickey was only greeted by the Doctor with an enthusiastic, "Mickey boy!" and this time all he'd had was a polite introduction.

As stunned as he was, Mickey smiled in return to the Doctor, and took him away.

Martha looked at Jack still gazing after the Doctor. She reached out to squeeze his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll sort this."

Jack just nodded at that, and the both of them followed Mickey.

* * *

The Doctor was like a child when he saw the scanner – both terrified and enormously excited at the same time at the big metal flashing device. With a little reassurance from Martha he did what he was told and climbed in so Martha could scan his head.

Jack just watched, utterly emotionless as the results came through.

Martha leant forward, examining intently. "Oh, that's strange."

"What?" Jack asked.

"Look here." She pointed to the back of the Doctor's skull, which looked a little cracked.

"Someone's whacked him, then?" Mickey asked.

"No... Well, not recently, anyway," Martha muttered. "Look at how much it's healed. And it's only a tiny crack; nothing serious enough to cause complete amnesia. The temporal lobe looks fine." She then frowned, looking at Jack. "How did he get here?"

"... The Master brought him," Jack muttered.

Martha grimaced. "I was afraid of that. I think he's done something to the Doctor in his head – something really bad. Something we can't detect."

Jack swore loudly, his fists clenching.

"Can I get up?" the Doctor suddenly asked.

"Yes, of course, sorry," Martha said, realising she had been talking in third person. She'd almost forgotten he was there. She moved to the Time Lord and helped him sit up on the scanner. "Are you hurting anywhere?"

The Doctor grimaced, pointing. "My shoulder."

"Okay, let's see," she said, cautiously unbuttoning his shirt to assess the damage – but to her complete surprise, it was already cleaned up and fully treated, wrapped in packet-fresh bandages. She didn't need to do anything for it. She didn't even need to treat his other wounds either; his cuts were already stitched up to perfection.

It could have only been the Master.

She glanced at Jack, who had obviously also figured that out as he was frowning quite deeply.

"He wouldn't bother doing this," was all she said.

"I know," Jack replied quietly.

"What? Who?" the Doctor asked, confused.

"Don't worry, let me check you over," Martha replied, still forcing that smile. She hoped it looked supportive, rather than as confused as she felt inside.

She retrieved a medical bag from the side. She pulled out a stethoscope to check his hearts beat, following by his lungs. The Doctor just watched her do it, obediently silent and still.

"Hearts and lungs are fine," she announced, and pulled out her next instrument to check his temperature. Then his pupil dilation, his blood pressure, his respiration rate, his head, neck, abdomen, skin, fingers, reflexes, muscular strength, balance... until she finally ran out of tests. It must have been at least twenty minutes of examinations in total, and the Doctor hadn't spoken a word. Not a single_, _'you humans and your tests!' or 'I'm perfectly fine!'.

Nothing about it felt right.

"He's fine, completely fine," she summarised, and quickly realised she was talking in third person again and tried to focus on the Doctor. "Sorry, I mean, there's nothing physically wrong with you, apart from the crash injuries of course. Which the Master seems to have... umm... taken care of."

"Is that bad?" the Doctor wondered, taking in all their stony expressions.

"Oh, no, it's good," Martha assured him, _trying _to widen her smile. "It's just..."

"What?"

Martha decided to go straight in with it. "What's the first thing you remember about the Master?"

"I woke up in his house," the Doctor replied, completely honestly.

"Take us through it," Martha said gently.

The Doctor did so immediately, telling them the complete story from the moment he'd woken up, to arriving at Torchwood in the car. By the end of it, the other three were just staring at him in utter disbelief. Nobody spoke for quite a while, at least until the Doctor suddenly laid himself down on the scanner and closed his eyes.

"Doctor?" Jack asked quickly, moving forward. "Are you all right?"

"Going to sleep," the Doctor told him, deadpan.

"You can't do that here."

"Can't I?"

"No, it's not comfortable. Come on, I'll find you a bed."

"Oh, okay," the Doctor replied, standing up immediately and waiting for Jack to take him to the destination. It was so strange how he just followed direct orders without question. He trusted Jack completely, even though the Doctor had only technically met him twenty minutes ago.

He was so _naïve_.

Jack took his hand and pulled him up the stairs and across the Hub. He pulled back the hatch to his room and gestured for the Doctor to go down. He did, and for a moment just stood there, staring into the darkness.

"Turn on the light," Jack advised, staring at him from above.

"What?" the Doctor asked, looking back up at him with a blank expression.

Jack climbed down and reached for the bed lamp, switching it on. The Doctor sprang back in surprise; terrified by the sudden explosion of light.

"It's all right," Jack said quickly to calm him down. "It's just a light. Just get undressed and go to sleep.

The Doctor just looked at him blankly again.

"Okay, just stay still," Jack said gently, unbuttoning the rest of his shirt and pulling it off. The Doctor didn't say anything. He wasn't pulling away; he wasn't making a joke about Jack finding fun in undressing him; he wasn't doing _anything. _Even when Jack pulled off his shoes and trousers – even when he was just standing there in his boxers, gazing at Jack – he did _absolutely nothing._

It was really quite scary.

"Get into bed, sorry about the mess," Jack said, pulling back the covers for him.

Autonomously, the Doctor did as he instructed and climbed in, curling himself up into a ball.

Jack offered him a smile. "Don't worry, we'll sort this out. Good night."

"Good night," the Doctor replied automatically, and shut his eyes.

* * *

Martha and Mickey were waiting when he got back out of the hatch. He closed it and turned to them, feeling as though he were about to cry.

"I had to undress him, he didn't... He just let me do it," Jack muttered. "Just stood there."

Martha nodded, understanding, as did Mickey. "Hopefully this is temporary... He might be okay when he wakes up."

"God I hope so," Jack muttered, staring at the floor. "I really don't like seeing him like this."

"I know, me neither," Martha agreed.

"But that stuff about the Master, does this mean the Master was helping him?" Mickey asked suddenly.

"I think so," Martha replied, but even looked incredibly confused at her own sentence. "Unless the Doctor was lying."

"I don't think he knows what lying is," Jack pointed out.

"No..." Martha agreed. "Look, let's just wait until morning. He'll probably be up at 6am annoying the hell out of us like usual."

"Probably," Jack muttered, but he didn't really believe it.

* * *

**A/N: **The Master'll be back. I've just got this feeling, you know? :P


	3. My Mother-In-Law

**A/N: **I'm not even going to look at how long it's been since the last chapter. Seriously. So embarrassing.

* * *

Chapter 3 – My Mother-In-Law

Jack took the sofa for the night whilst everyone else went home. It was difficult sleeping on a sofa far too small for his height, but eventually he somehow managed to drift off into a broken form of sleep. At least until a strange crying sound woke him up again at 5am.

He sat up instantly, listening intently. It had stopped.

Dismissing it as part of a dream, he got comfortable again. No more than a second after he did it came again, this time much louder.

It was the Doctor.

He got up and moved quickly to his room, pulling back the hatch and dropping down. He flicked the light switch and found the Time Lord thrashing around and yelling every now and then, utterly entangled in the covers and coated in sweat. Tears were streaming down his face in turmoil, his hands clinging onto the bed cover as he arched his back, screaming.

Jack had seen him in nightmares a few times before – mostly about the Time War – but this was much, _much_ worse than anything Jack had seen him do before. He had to wake him out of this one, before he ended up hurting himself.

"Doctor!" Jack called, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him urgently.

The Doctor screamed and nearly head butted Jack in the face as he sat bolt upright, utterly panicked.

"Doc, calm down!" Jack urged, maintaining his grip and trying to get in his vision.

The Doctor panted for breath with tears still streaming down his cheeks, looking at him with wide, watery eyes. "Jack?" he croaked.

"It's all right, you're fine," Jack said quickly, pulling him into a hug. "You're in Torchwood."

The Doctor didn't reply, secured in Jack's hug as he sobbed, unrelenting.

After a while Jack pulled away, cupping his cheek. "Nightmare?" he asked.

"Wh-what's a n-nightmare?" the Doctor gasped.

"Pictures in your mind? Scary ones?" Jack asked, a little disappointed he still didn't have his memory back but that couldn't be helped.

"I c-can't r...remember..."

"S'alright," Jack assured him, hugging him again. "Just a nightmare, we all get them."

"O-okay," the Doctor gasped, and remained in the hug. They stayed like that for a while, until Jack finally pulled away and used his thumb to wipe away the last of the Time Lord's tears.

"Go back to sleep, I'll fix us some breakfast when you wake up again," Jack said gently.

The Doctor shook his head rapidly. "I don't want to go back to sleep."

Jack decided not to argue. "All right, I'll get the shower running for you then. D'you remember how to use a shower?"

"No."

"That's okay, I'll teach you."

* * *

Jack made toast and got some orange juice timed ready for when the Doctor came back out of the shower. Unfortunately, having spent the night in broken sleep Jack was exhausted, and fell asleep at the table. He only woke up a few minutes later when he was suddenly poked in the shoulder by something and he sat bolt upright, snapping open his eyes, automatically raising his fists straight at the thing – only to realise it was the Doctor, standing over him, staring.

"Holy crap, Doctor," Jack gasped, quickly dropping his fists. "Don't do that."

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, just a bit tired, I..." he trailed off as he realised with a strange combination of surprise, horror, delight and confusion that the Doctor wasn't dressed from his shower – just stood there completely naked. "... Get dressed, Doc."

"What? Oh," the Doctor realised, looking down at himself. "Sorry. I forgot that bit."

Jack just smiled reassuringly at him. "S'alright, I'm enjoying it."

"You're enjoying it?" the Doctor queried.

"Oh, when you remember you're going to go mental," Jack grinned. "Just get dressed. Use the clothes I put out for you."

"Okay," the Doctor replied, and left.

Jack's face instantly fell. Any fleeting thought he may have had that maybe the Doctor was putting it on for some insane, unknown reason was tarnished. He would _never _have done that.

He just sat and waited for the Time Lord to return as the clock hit 6am. Thankfully when he did he was fully dressed in jeans and a t-shirt from Jack's range, so consequently completely not his size. He took the seat at the table, picking up the toast with his good arm and devouring in two bites. He certainly ate like the Doctor anyway.

"How's your shoulder?" Jack asked, noticing he was holding it rigid.

"Hurting," he replied.

"We'll need to reapply the bandage after this," Jack told him. "Not sure if we've got any of your painkillers left."

"My painkiller?" the Doctor queried, frowning.

"Yeah, you're badly allergic to aspirin. We keep stocks of your painkiller just in case. Last year sort of wore it out though."

"What happened last year?"

Jack pursed his lips. "Err, long story. Anything come back yet?"

"I don't think so," the Doctor replied after a moment's thought.

"Okay, don't worry, it'll come," Jack assured him, and noticed he'd already finished his toast. "D'you want some more breakfast?"

"No, thank you," the Doctor replied politely.

Jack nodded. "Let me eat this and we'll do your shoulder."

* * *

Martha and Mickey arrived just as Jack was finishing up rebandaging. Mickey stayed with him as Martha pulled Jack from the room, conspiratorial.

"Nothing come back?" she wondered.

Jack shook his head. "I think he had a nightmare this morning, the worst I've ever seen him having one. He couldn't remember what he dreamt of, though."

Martha nodded, as if it confirmed something. "I was thinking last night... if there's no damage to his head that could cause something like this, maybe it's not _physical_ trauma."

Jack got it instantly. "You mean psychological trauma?"

"Maybe something happened," she continued, nodding. "Something so bad it caused a fugue."

"Something to do with Rose and the kids?"

"Maybe. Maybe they died."

Jack's eyes widened. "No. That's not possible."

Martha gazed at him, sympathetic. "Jack, I know it's difficult to take in..."

"It's not, it's just not that," he almost snapped in reply. "This doesn't happen when the bond gets severed like that, you didn't see his future self four years ago, but it was nothing like this. The Doctor told me himself, when Rose dies he will go insane and try to kill himself, not lose his memory."

"Sorry," Martha said quickly. "It was just a suggestion."

Jack sighed, calming himself down. "I know, sorry. Look, I think that nightmare was probably the Time War. I reckon his memory's still there but he can't quite reach it. I've got a plan."

"Plan?" she echoed.

Jack nodded. "Gonna take him to Jackie's later. Maybe she can help. For now let's just see what he knows... Find out where we're at."

"Good idea," Martha agreed, just as the Doctor and Mickey appeared at the top of the stairs. The Doctor had forgotten to put his shirt back on again, standing there half-naked with his arm in a sling. He went straight to Jack.

"Gonna need to teach you how to shave," Jack realised, gazing at the Doctor's jawline. "First off, let's try and get a bit of that memory back."

The Doctor nodded, following Jack immediately like a child at his parent's side. Jack was about to take him to the sofa, when Ianto interrupted from the side.

"Jack, did you want this?" he asked, waving a brown package.

It took Jack a moment to realise it was the Master's package from yesterday. He was about to say no, when he stopped himself.

"Actually, yes," he replied, and Ianto handed it to him. The others watched, slightly apprehensively, as he carefully pulled it open and slid something out of the packaging.

"Black box," Martha realised.

"Just like he said," Jack added, a little bit surprised at how honest the Master had been.

"What is that?" the Doctor asked, peering at the device in Jack's hand, confused.

"Something that might answer a few questions," was all Jack replied, before handing the box to Mickey. "Let's get it linked into the computers."

* * *

**ERROR-ERROR-ERROR **

**BLACK BOX FILES – SP/EP: 109-45**

**Analysing files... Complete**

**87% file corruption. See available data? Y/N**

**BLACK BOX FILES – SP/EP: 109-45**

**Journey details:**

**Origin Point – Registered: Shadow Proclamation, Dock 3/109/45, 14.1/07**

**Destination Point – Custom Input: Sol 3, ****52.799687****° N, ****-4.507034****° W,**** 20.8/07**

**Journey profile:**

**Pod activated**

**Custom destination input**

**Estimated journey time calculated**

**Stasis query – occupant confirm – stasis activated**

**Severe malfunction (see below)**

**Malfunctions:**

**Power cell supply nil – catastrophic error**

**Action Taken:**

**Occupant alert unsuccessful – occupant unresponsive**

**Emergency landing protocol initiated automatically**

**-END-**

**Repeat? Y/N**

"You were in the Shadow Proclamation," Jack realised, looking at the Doctor in horror. "Why were you there!?"

"What's a Shadow Proclamation?" the Doctor asked as a form of reply.

"Never mind," Jack dismissed, almost getting a little annoyed at the Doctor's constant questions, so he quickly chastised himself for that. It wasn't the Doctor's fault. "D'you remember anything before you woke up at the Master's house?"

"I don't know," the Doctor replied, his face utterly passive.

"Think!" Jack urged.

The Doctor stared at him, his eyes suddenly filling up with tears. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Jack quickly regretted his outburst, resting a hand on the Doctor's good shoulder as a form of comfort. "No, my fault, I'm sorry. But before you woke up. There must be something before that...?"

"Umm..." the Doctor murmured, frowning. "I think... I think I was running."

"Running from?"

"Something scary."

"What was scary about it?"

"It was going to kill me."

"Kill you? What was it?"

"I... I don't know," the Doctor muttered. "I was just running."

"That's all right," Jack assured him. "Was there anyone with you?"

"People. Other people. I don't know who they were."

"And you were all running?"

"Yeah."

"Where did you start running from?"

"This... room. It was white. Everyone was there."

"You mean everyone you ran with?"

"Yeah."

"Was Rose there?"

"Who?"

"Your wife, Rose," Jack explained.

"... I don't know. What does she look like?"

"She's blonde, pretty."

"... I don't remember her there."

"That's okay. So you ran, you ran to the escape pods, and you got in one, yes?"

"I don't remember getting in anything..." the Doctor muttered after a slight pause, and suddenly began to get very agitated. "I can't remember anything!"

"It's all right," Jack said quickly. "It'll take time."

"You have bits and pieces, that's normal," Martha assured him. "You'll start remembering more if we keep talking about it."

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked, anxious.

She nodded. "Positive."

He seemed to take absolute conviction from her words. "Okay."

"Now go and get dressed, and I'll take you out," Jack said, offering a smile.

The Doctor nodded, as if not quite sure what he was acknowledging. Then he left, like a wandering kitten trying to find its way home.

After he was out of sight, Jack looked at Martha and Mickey, frowning. "Something I didn't mention."

"What?"

"This escape pod. He set off from the Shadow Proclamation and programmed to land right next to the Master's house," he explained, moving his finger down the list as he addressed each point. "Then it calculated the time it would take, and asked him if he wanted to go into stasis. He accepted. Between there and here the pod ran out of power, and tried to revive him to tell him, but he didn't respond. Then it crashed. But my question is..."

He pointed at the dates. Martha and Mickey both leant forward to get a closer look, not that the alien symbols were making much sense to them.

"14.1/07 to 20.8/07. If that's Universal time..." He looked back at them, swallowing. "He was in the pod in suspended animation for twelve years."

"But what does that mean?" Mickey wondered, frowning.

"I don't know," Jack admitted. "But that's a hell of a long time to spend in stasis."

"Could this have caused the amnesia?" Martha asked quickly.

"Maybe. I don't know," he replied, shrugging. "People who've spent a few years in stasis usually have a bit of retrograde amnesia but this is the worst case I've ever seen. They tend to recover pretty quickly, though. I mean, we're talking hours, sometimes even twenty minutes."

"So stasis sickness is an option," Martha summarised.

"Yes."

"Jack?" the Doctor's voice suddenly came from across the Hub in a terrified squeak. "Help!"

Jack frowned, instantly forgetting the Black Box and running to his best friend. When he turned the corner, he burst out laughing, and then looked back at Mickey and Martha.

"Wardrobe malfunction," he explained, and then disappeared to help.

* * *

Jack had fully dressed the Doctor and took him outside onto the Plass, holding his good arm every step of the way.

They then began the walk to Jackie's house. With every step the Doctor was looking around with absolute wonder at the city of Cardiff, absolutely fascinated with everything from the Millennium Centre to the public bins. Jack maintained his firm hold, a little surprised at how terrified he was of losing the Doctor even in a place he knew so well.

They got to the road crossing and stopped to wait for the cars. Jack managed to convince himself to lax his grip slightly, looking sideward at the Doctor. He was staring at the hotel opposite where a family was sitting at a bench, the children running rampant.

Suddenly the Doctor started walking forward, right out into the path of a car. Jack yelped and launched forward, grabbing his waist and yanking him back as the car swerved and screeched, the horn blaring. The driver swore at them as he drove off.

"Doctor!" Jack gasped, alarmed. "Don't do that!"

"Do what?" the Doctor asked, confused.

"Walk out in the middle of the road!" Jack explained, not letting go of him. "That could have killed you!"

"Oh," the Doctor realised, frowning as he watched the car that had almost hit him drive off into the distance. It was painfully apparent that he had absolutely no idea of the danger he'd just put himself in.

Jack heard a giggle from behind him, and he turned to find two amused teenage girls having seen what had happened. He glared at them, still holding onto the Doctor.

"Yeah, because having total amnesia is hilarious isn't it?" he spat maliciously.

They shut up after that, and Jack slipped his hand into the Doctors to make sure he wasn't going to bolt off again.

* * *

They reached Jackie's flat by lunchtime.

Jack rang the doorbell, and within seconds Jackie opened it. The moment she saw the Doctor her face broke into a smile, filled with utter conviction.

"Hello, sweetheart. Come on in both of you."

Jack had to enter first to convince the Doctor it was okay to go in. He made to let go of the Doctor's hand once they were safe in the flat but the Time Lord kept a firm, nervous hold. Jack led him to the sofa and had to force him to sit down whilst Jackie just watched, staring at the Doctor, trying to understand what exactly had happened with him.

"Doc, it's all right. This is Jackie. She's your wife's mum," Jack told him gently.

"You mean Rose? Blonde and pretty?" the Doctor asked.

Jack glanced at Jackie. He had warned her of what to expect before they'd come, but he could tell that the smile on her face was becoming more and more forced with every second that she looked at him, the edges of her eyes starting to become wet. "Yeah," he eventually confirmed.

"So... you're my..."

"Mother-in-Law," Jack supplied.

"Oh," the Doctor muttered, just staring at Jackie as if he was trying to recognise her. He obviously didn't, so he turned his attention to the coffee table. "What is this?" he asked, pointing at the cup of tea.

"It's called tea, love," Jackie said slowly and clearly, as though she were talking to a foreigner. "You like it."

"Oh," the Doctor said, and reached forward to take the cup with absolute care. He held it in both hands, his own suspense of anticipation and inevitable discovery apparent as he took a tentative sip... "Oh!" he said again, this time in delight before he took a hearty one.

Jack looked at Jackie again. "Jackie, you said you had something for him?"

"What? Oh," Jackie realised, tearing her watery eyes away from the bewildering sight of the Doctor discovering tea for the first time. "Yeah."

She left the room, Jack following her into a bedroom. She rummaged around in the bedside table for a moment before pulling out a few worn diaries from under the socks.

"This is Rose's," Jackie explained, handing them to Jack. "They're of their first couple of years together with Leah, she gave it to me to read last year."

He took it, and for a moment just gazed at her face. She was just about ready to tumble into unstoppable tears. "It's gonna be all right."

"I know I promised I wouldn't ask about Rose and the kids..." Jackie began, starting to struggle to get her words out. "But where are they, Jack!?"

"Look, I dunno for sure, but I think they're fine from what I know," Jack assured her quickly. "But hopefully this diary will help him remember them."

"I don't like him like this," she admitted, and the first tear escaped. "He should... He should be fightin' with me, he should be arguin' and doing all that annoyin' stuff he does, not just sittin' there like a bloody plank of wood!"

"I know," Jack agreed. "It's freaking us all out, but he just needs help and familiar faces right now. Then we can start getting him back, then Rose and the kids."

"I... I didn't think it was this b-bad," she sobbed.

"I know," was all Jack found himself saying, but he was pretty sure at this point in time even _that_ wasn't making sense. Much like everything else right now. "Look, come out when you're ready. We don't want to upset him by us being upset."

She nodded, wiping at her eyes. Her mascara began to run down her face as it started to get worse.

"It's gonna be all right," Jack said yet again, fully aware he'd repeated that phrase around twenty times by now and each time he did it felt more and more pointless. "We'll sort this."

* * *

When Jack and Jackie entered again the Doctor was still sat in the sofa, peering closely at all the different biscuits and trying each one individually with varying reactions. He saw them, and a big grin spread on his face as he held up a custard cream.

"This is nice," he told them. "What is it?"

Jack couldn't resist a smile. The Doctor was grinning. It had been a while since he'd seen that.

"Custard Cream," Jack supplied, dropping to sit down next to him. "Here, got something for you."

He held out the diaries. The Doctor took them, opening one with curiosity.

"It's your wife's diaries," Jack explained.

The Doctor flicked through it, the pages crammed full with neat, curvy writing.

"Just read it when you've got some time," Jack continued. "Something might come back."

"Okay," the Doctor replied, putting the books down on the side for now while he went for another Custard Cream.

Jackie sat on the other side of him, just watching him eat the biscuit. Usually she'd rebuke him for getting crumbs all over her sofa, but this time she didn't. She let it happen. And pretty soon, he'd noticed her staring at him.

"I'm sorry, have I done something wrong?" he asked with the tone and expression of someone almost _begging_ her to say he hadn't.

"Oh no," Jackie said sadly, smiling supportively at him before slowly, deliberately and carefully leaning forward to hug him, making sure he was fine with it every step of the way. "God, you're so much more polite like this. It's so bloody weird."

"Sorry," the Doctor said again, suddenly finding himself drowning in amongst a Jackie Tyler hug somewhere. "Should I be impolite instead?"

"Oh god no, not yet," she replied, laughing. Somehow she seemed to hug him even tighter. "We'll look after you, sweetheart."


	4. Dear Diary 1

**A/N: **You need a completely stupid chapter every once in a while I feel...

* * *

Chapter 4 - Dear Diary 1

**18****th**** November 2008 (Earth time) – Leah 1 month old**

_Dear Diary,_

_So here we are, one month into the weirdness. We're both really tired, irritated with each other and constantly hungry and it really didn't help last week when the Doctor slipped on one of Leah's toys and apparently broke his sternum..._

* * *

"Leah, go to sleep," the Doctor begged the baby in a whisper.

"WAAAH!" she replied in a discontented scream.

"I know you're tired, Leah," he continued quietly. "You've been fed, changed, played with, bathed, hung up to dry and now you're rubbing your eyes, yawning and stretching. You're tired."

"WAAAH!"

"The book says you're tired. The book never lies, Leah."

"WAAAH!"

The Doctor decided a change of tact was in order, mentally flicking through his potential options. He very quickly settled on bribery. "Leah, I will do _anything_ when you're older. I will let you have whatever boyfriend you want; I will take you anywhere; I will give you unlimited shopping money... if you just _go to sleep!" _he urged.

"WAAAH!"

"How about a pony? I will give you a pony! The TV says you love ponies! Go to sleep and Daddy'll get you a pony!"

"WAAAH!"

"_Two_ ponies!" the Doctor amended with enthusiasm. "Two ponies for you!"

"WAAAH!"

"Okay, not a pony. How about a motorbike? It's essentially the same thing as a pony except it's got an engine."

"WAAAH!"

He sighed. "Okay, I'll be straight with you, Leah. Me and Mummy are tired. Very tired. I mean crazy, barking mad tired. If we don't get some sleep soon we are going to go insane, and we'll have to get put in a room with padded walls and you'll have to go to Uncle Jack. You don't want to go to Uncle Jack, do you? So go to sleep."

"WAAAH!"

"Doctor!" Rose called from the next room.

"What?"

"I want to go to sleep!"

"WAAAH!"

"Don't you think I do too!?" the Doctor whined.

"But the book said she was tired!"

"The book is overrated!"

"WAAAH!"

"Did you try the pony thing?" Rose asked.

"Of course I did!" he snapped, irritated. "She's not interested!"

"Offer her _five _ponies, stupid!"

"Shut up!" He turned back to Leah, who was still screaming. He braced himself, rolling back his shoulders... "Leah... _five _ponies. You can have _five ponies. _Honestly. Five ponies, all for you. What d'you say?"

She suddenly quietened, settling down and yawning widely. The Doctor just stood there, holding his breath in anticipation. He couldn't make a sound. Even the slightest squeak would set her off again, like a waiting bomb...

She closed her eyes, and there was blissful silence for twenty, long and lovely seconds. The Doctor had almost forgotten what silence sounded like, and he found he liked it.

He glanced at his exit, picking out a path through the scattered toys on the floor. Then he slowly, carefully, and quietly turned, creeping on tip toe through the toy-carpeted floor and out of the door. He didn't stop his cautious walk even after he'd closed the nursery door, tiptoeing across the corridor into his and Rose's bedroom. Even when he'd closed the door and got to the bed he tried to keep all noise to an absolute minimum.

He thought about changing, but then just pulled off his shoes, put them under the bed, climbed under the covers still fully dressed, and dropped his head directly face-down in the middle of the pillow.

"We owe her 655 ponies. Good night," he said.

"Good night."

They both closed their eyes. The TARDIS dimmed the lights, and there was blissful silence. Ten seconds passed.

"Rose."

"What?"

"She's not making any noise."

"She's asleep. Now you can go to sleep, idiot."

"But... What if she's not breathing?"

"Doctor. She's breathing. Go to sleep."

"Okay," he mumbled, reassured. "Night."

"Night."

Ten more seconds passed.

"Doctor," Rose suddenly said.

"What?"

"What if there _is _somethin' wrong?"

They both opened their eyes to stare at each other from across the bed.

"... No," the Doctor eventually dismissed. "She's fine."

"Yeah," Rose agreed, closing her eyes again. "Night."

"Night."

Ten seconds passed.

"Oh god, Doctor."

"What?"

"I've got this really bad feelin' something's wrong, now."

They both opened their eyes again.

"So have I," the Doctor admitted, tense. "Maybe we should check on her."

They both thought about that for a moment.

"... No," Rose eventually dismissed. "We're overreactin'."

"You're right," the Doctor agreed, and closed his eyes again. "Night."

"Night."

Five seconds passed.

"I have to check on her!" the Doctor suddenly exclaimed, sitting up straight with the TARDIS lights switching back on.

"Yes!" Rose responded, wide-eyed. "I've got this feelin'!"

"I know, so have I!" he said quickly, clambering out of bed.

"Oh god, she's dyin', _run _Doctor!"

"I am, I am!" he yelled back, bolting out of the door and across the corridor faster than a hurricane. He burst through the door and ran to the cot to check her – but unfortunately forgot to register the toys still scattered over the floor. He ran right on a ball rattle, went flying up in the air and came crashing face-down straight onto a wooden duck with a yelp of pain.

Instantly Leah woke up and started crying again.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled, annoyed.

He tried to get up, but he'd moved only an inch before gunshot pain ripped straight through his chest and he cried out, dropping back down again. He was still lying on several toys but any dreams he may have had about _not _lying on them were crashing down around his ears.

"DOCTOR!"

"WAAAH!"

"Rose..." he called softly, his voice seemingly whiny and pathetic in his ears. "I've fallen and I can't get up..."

"What!?"

"I can't get up..."

"If you're sayin' anythin' I can't hear you!"

"I CAN'T..." he began to yell, but more pain burst into his chest and he choked, which only seemed to make it worse. "... Get up," he finished in a pathetic wheeze.

"WAAAH!"

The door opened. "For god's sake Doctor when... Why are you on the floor?"

"Fell over," he breathed.

"Get up then."

"I can't..."

"WAAAH!"

"What d'you mean you can't?"

"What d'you _think_ I mean? I can't get up!"

"You're jokin'."

"No."

"Oh for God's sake!" she burst out, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him upright. The undivided scream of pain he gave at the movement made her drop him in alarm. "What the hell?"

"Ow," he whined.

"WAAAH!"

* * *

"I don't believe this," Rose sighed, staring at him lying in the infirmary bed with his chest bruised and swollen.

"Me either," he assured her, checking the scan as she handed the printout to him. "Ugh, fractured my sternum."

"What does that mean?"

"I can't get up for at least a week."

There was a harrowing silence as Rose stared at him, her eyes wide. "What did you say?"

He winced. "I err... can't... get up for a week."

"You're jokin'."

"Nope."

"No, not a question. You _are _jokin'."

"... No."

"WHAT!?" she shrieked, nearly blowing out his eardrums. "You expect me to run around after Leah by myself whilst you bloody _lounge _about in bed for a _week!?"_

"... You'll have to feed me too," he added, somewhat unhelpfully.

"Oh _great!" _she exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So I've got _two _babies to deal with!"

"Well I'm sorry for checking our daughter in a hurry to make sure she was all right!" he yelled.

"You could have at _least _looked where you were _bloody_ goin'!"

"Well if you'd cleaned up all the the toys this afternoon I wouldn't have tripped on them!"

"So this is _my _fault!?"

"Yes!"

"That's unbelievable!"

"How is that unbelievable!?"

"You're trying to blame _me _for _you_ bein' so _dumb! _You're an asshole!"

"Likewise!"

"WAAAH!" Leah interrupted from afar.

"URGH!" Rose burst out in utter frustration, stamping her feet before storming out, slamming the door behind her.

The Doctor just watched her go, feeling extremely riled. That hadn't been his fault, and she was an idiot to think so.

So much for children bringing you together.

He sighed, laid back with his head on the pillow and within four minutes, for the first time for a month, he'd finally fallen in to a deep, replenishing, completely guilt-free sleep.

* * *

_Three days later..._

The Doctor was sat in the infirmary bed watching TV, one hand behind his head and the other in a bowl of cheese puffs, staring at _By the Light of the Asteroid_ intently.

"_I'm so sorry Jaf'la!" _the woman sobbed. _"I can't lie to you anymore!"_

"_Azhux? Sweetheart, what is it?"_

"_I'm just not the Porfulaxian you think I am!" _

"_What are you trying to say!?"_

"_I'm... I'm... Oh, Jaf'la, I'm... I'm biogenous!"_

The Doctor gasped, the cheese puffs stopping halfway to his mouth as the cliffhanger theme began. "No way!" he exclaimed, grabbing for the remote and fast forwarding through the credits to the next episode, just as Rose came bursting in through the door, bringing all the cold air with her.

The Doctor looked at the mother of his child, standing there in the doorway holding a tray of food. Her blonde hair was everywhere, tangled and messy, her clothes dishevelled and dirtied. She had such severe eye-bags it looked like she'd been punched in the face twice and the expression on her face was nothing that represented any morsel of joy whatsoever.

"Hello, light of my life!" the Doctor exclaimed happily, smiling.

"Shut up!" she roared, storming over to the bed and slamming the tray she held down on the side table, the contents of it flying everywhere. "Here's your _bloody_ lunch!"

He watched her for a moment, his hand moving to the bowl of cheese puffs again. "What's wrong, Rose?" he asked in a completely smooth, calm and collected voice. "You seem a bit stressed."

"Do I!?" she screamed full in his face. _"DO I!?"_

He flinched slightly. She hadn't cleaned her teeth in a while. "... Have a cheese puff!" he said eventually, holding out the bowl.

"I hope you die, stupid alien!" she screamed in return, swiftly turning on her heel and storming out of the door. The entire wall shook as she slammed it behind her.

The Doctor winced, waiting a good minute or so for the wall to stop shaking before he reached for the remote again, and hit play.

* * *

_Four days later..._

"Leah, go to sleep!"

"WAAAH!" she responded.

"Please_, please!"_

"WAAAH!"

"Five ponies!"

"WAAAH!"

"Ten ponies!"

"WAAAH!"

"Rose! Rose! Help me!"

"Sorry, light of my life!" Rose responded happily, sitting in bed munching on some cheese puffs. "Can't hear you!"

* * *

_I still think he did it on purpose._

_Rose x_

* * *

**A/N:** I really have to say thanks for all the reviews so far, you are ll made of gold-plated awesome, and I'll do review reply this chapter. Seriously. I will. Stop laughing :o


	5. Speaking In Tongues

**A/N: **Oh yeeeah! I review replied! *does the I'm-so-awesome dance* I did it! I managed to do what thousands of other people do every day on this site... oh. :x

* * *

Chapter 5 – Speaking Tongues

Jack was woken at 7am by the sound of the Doctor screaming.

He rushed to the room immediately, dropping down the hole-in-the-floor to find him in the throes of another nightmare. He quickly roused him, hugging him tightly as the Doctor trembled in his grip, crying.

"Jack," the Time Lord gasped, in tears once again.

"Yeah?" Jack asked softly, still holding him.

"I... don't like sleeping."

"I know," Jack murmured.

"I don't want to... to do it anymore."

Jack sighed, impulsively kissing his forehead. "God, you're so broken aren't you," he muttered. "We'll work something out, I promise. There might be a medicine we can give you."

The Doctor didn't reply, staying firmly in his arms.

"Did you read any of the diary?" Jack asked.

The Doctor nodded.

"Nothing come back, huh?"

The Doctor shook his head in response.

"Okay," Jack breathed, trying not to sigh. "One day at a time. Let's teach you how to shave."

* * *

"Hi, Sarah Jane. It's Jack. Look, we've got a problem, I think you can help... The Doctor's turned up here with really bad amnesia... Yeah can you come over? … Soon as you can... Yeah, that'd be great... See you in a few hours."

Jack hung up, took a steely breath, and walked back into the kitchen just as the clock hit 9am where Mickey was at the worktop making some tea and the Doctor was sat at the table, staring at the television.

"Did you just call Sarah Jane?" Mickey asked.

Jack nodded. "She's driving over from Ealing now."

"Jack," the Doctor suddenly began, and Jack turned to see him frowning and pointing at the TV. "Isn't the Shadow Proclamation that thing the other day?"

"What?" Jack asked, following the Doctor's lead to the television. The universal news was on.

"Since when did we get Universal News?" Mickey asked seriously.

"Hold on, shush," Jack said quickly, holding up a hand.

"_The Shadow Proclamation has been rocked today by the sudden death of one of their hierarchy. Last night at 6-78 universal time, a Shadow Architect was found dead in her chambers. The nature of her death has not been officially confirmed but first reports suggest the death is being treated as suspicious..."_

"Oh wow," Jack muttered.

"What did it say?" Mickey asked, unable to understand the language.

"There's been a suspicious death at the Shadow Proclamation," the Doctor told him.

"Yeah," Jack confirmed... and then frowned, stopping his train of thought instantly. "Wait a minute, you know Uniuxian?"

"Know what?" the Doctor asked, confused.

"The language they just spoke in, you understood it?"

"Yeah."

Jack glanced at Mickey, and then back at the Doctor. He dropped into the seat opposite him, leaning forward on the table.

"Parlez-vous français?" Jack asked slowly.

The Doctor frowned. "Oui...?" he responded, as if he didn't quite know what he was saying.

Jack frowned and switched to Brazillian Portuguese. "Você consegue me entender agora? Qual é meu nome?"

"Sim, eu entendo, e seu nome é Jack," the Doctor replied without hesitation.

"Kkaftk yakkgutuk ktaggka?" Jack asked, the dialect of the southern Stratos System.

"Ttakku," the Doctor replied fluently.

Jack frowned, trying to recall a piece of Gallifreyan he knew. "E joi," he finally said.

"Je piha?" the Doctor asked, sincere.

"... Is that possible?" Mickey wondered, getting it instantly.

"Apparently," Jack answered, gazing at the Doctor.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"I think you still know every language."

"Is that bad?"

"Oh no," Jack assured him quickly. "It's just... strange."

"Oh, okay," the Doctor replied, looking at Mickey still standing by the kettle, staring at him. "Can I have some of that tea stuff?"

Mickey instantly snapped to attention, blinking in surprise. "Oh, sure, Doctor," he said, and pulled down another mug.

"What are we doing today?" the Doctor asked, looking back at Jack.

"I've got Sarah coming over, she's an old friend of yours," Jack told him.

"Sarah who?" the Doctor asked, confused.

"Sarah Jane Smith," Jack reiterated. "You've known her for a very long time."

"I can't remember that name."

Jack sighed a little inside. "Don't worry about it. It'll come."

* * *

"I didn't tell you everything on the phone," Jack confessed as he walked Sarah in the Hub just past lunchtime.

Sarah caught his tone instantly. "What's left to tell me?"

Jack suddenly stopped walking, taking her arm to stop her mid-step.

She turned to face him, inquisitive. "What, Jack?"

He swallowed, suddenly faltering.

She rested a hand on his arm in comfort. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"He's... He didn't know where he was. He didn't know my name, or Martha's, or anyone's. He didn't know how to shower or shave and... He doesn't even remember what Rose looks like. He didn't know he had kids, Sarah. He knows every language in the universe but didn't know what a Tardis was..."

If Sarah was shocked, she decided not to show it. She smiled instead, as a reassurance.

"He'll be okay," she said. "I've seen him at the brink of death after a mind-bending contest, energy bolts thrown at him, he's been tied to a Kraal table that nearly made his head explode... Jack, this is nothing."

"He's always okay," Jack reiterated slowly.

Sarah nodded. "Yes."

"Okay," Jack breathed, rolling back his shoulders, feeling very reassured. "Sorry."

Sarah nodded once more. "I know. But he's old boots, Jack. Remember that. How many times have you seen him rise from the dead?"

"Couldn't count them."

"Exactly," she replied, affirming that smile. "Shall we see him now?"

* * *

The Doctor was sat in the conference room reading the diary when they entered. He looked up, looking at Sarah, and then at Jack.

"This is Sarah Jane?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jack replied, glancing at Sarah.

She just smiled at the Doctor. "Just call me Sarah."

He nodded, got out of his seat and extended his good hand promptly. "It's nice to meet you, Sarah. I'm the Doctor."

She took his hand without hesitation to shake it. "It's lovely to meet you too. Would you like to have a chat?"

"Okay," he replied, dropping back down into his seat automatically. She took the one opposite, and cupped his hand gently in her own. He looked down at his hand in hers, obviously slightly bewildered, but she didn't let go.

"When you look at me... Do you remember anything?" was her first question, smiling at him.

"No," he said, staring at her smile.

"Do you remember where we met?"

"No."

She tilted her head to gaze at him – straight into those utterly empty eyes. "... Do you remember your previous bodies?"

"My what?"

"Your regenerations. Do you remember how many bodies you've had?"

"What's a regeneration?"

Jack only just about stopped himself gasping. He had to force himself to steel his expression and keep the Doctor comfortable, so he ended up needing to do something with his arms and he folded them instead.

Sarah hadn't reacted, her voice just becoming softer and softer with every progressive word. "Do you remember what species you are?"

The Doctor just frowned. "Species? Aren't I a Solian?"

"No. You're... You're a Gallifreyan, a Time Lord," Sarah said gently, but even as Jack watched he could tell her tough exterior was slowly but surely melting away at the sight of the utterly clueless Doctor.

"So I'm an alien?"

"Yes."

"Shouldn't I be your enemy?"

"Oh no, oh, goodness no," Sarah stumbled out quickly, re-tightening her grip on his hand. "You're very special to us."

"Why?" he asked, genuinely puzzled. "And I look just like you. Why am I different?"

"You have a different internal system to us, and you can regenerate... which means if you're sick or injured to the point you can't get better you can regenerate into a new body to fix yourself. We can't do that."

"Oh," the Doctor murmured, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Is Rose a Time Lord too?"

"No."

"I reproduced out of my species?" he asked. Jack noticed he said it strangely, as though he was shocked at that – almost repulsed. Like Rose was some sort of worm...

Sarah glanced at Jack changing face, and decided not to linger. "Yes. But you have a thing that connects you to her, it's called bonding. Do you remember that?"

"No...?"

"Can you feel it?" Jack suddenly asked, stepping forward.

The Doctor frowned again. "What does it feel like?"

"Like..." Jack mused, trying to remember what the Doctor had told him all those years ago. "Like she's in your heart – a part of it. It's like a rope tying your hearts together. The more distance there is between you the tighter the rope becomes, the less slack there is, and the more it feels like something's going to rip out of your chest with the pull. When the bond breaks the rope tugs too hard and rips out your heart. You physically need her, every bit of her... It's like the most love you could ever feel for anything multiplied a thousand times."

The Doctor closed his eyes, seemingly searching for something of that description. He stayed still for a while as Jack and Sarah gazed at him, waiting for the answer...

The Doctor's eyes opened. "I feel nothing like that."

Jack had to leave the room, then.

* * *

He'd gone to his office and shut the door to try and block the world out. He dropped down into his chair, staring across the room to a point on the floor. Thoughts rolled through his head for three minutes straight. He didn't move an inch.

He finally snapped out of it, looking down at his desk. He pulled out a drawer, reached in, and drew out the half-empty bottle of whiskey he kept handy for days like this. He gazed at it for a moment, but ended up putting it back into the drawer and closing it again, dropping his head in his hands.

Someone knocked on his door.

"Come in," he muttered dully.

"Jack?" It was Martha.

He looked up through his fingers. "Afternoon," he murmured.

"Not going well with Sarah?" she supposed.

"Nope," Jack surmised, dropping his hands on the table. "D'you know what day it is tomorrow?"

The question caught her off-guard. "What?"

"It's Rose's birthday," Jack told her, and suddenly laughed. "She's the only woman in the world who has no idea how old she is. Time travelling can totally screw birthdays up."

Martha just smiled, taking the chair on the other side of his desk. She was five months pregnant now, with the surprise Mickey baby. The Doctor was originally going to help with the delivery. Jack didn't even know if the Doctor knew what a baby _was_ right now, never mind how to deliver on.

Martha smiled sadly at him. "She's probably fine. Her, Leah, Alex and Kiana. They're fine."

"You don't know that," Jack muttered.

"Her and the Doctor have been bonded for five years, Jack. She's learnt from the best. And you told me the other day – this isn't what happens if Rose dies. And besides, the Doctor wouldn't let her die. They all protect each other in their family, you've seen the hard times for yourself."

Jack nodded, finally looking at her for more than two seconds. "I bet Rose will walk in that front door in a week with the kids and a bottle of potion to fix the Doctor saying the Doctor managed to get himself caught in a malfunctioning psycho-graft."

"And then Jackie'll come, her and the Doctor'll get into an argument and she'll slap him," Martha added, laughing.

"Yeah," Jack snorted. "Then he'll spend the entire day hiding from her in the Weevil cell again."

"Then he'll cook dinner!" Martha giggled.

"Oh god, d'you remember that, the roast?"

"How could I forget it!"

"The potatoes were completely cemented to the pan and he tried solvent!" Jack recalled, unable to stop laughing.

"We all had so much wine we were drunk by seven o'clock..."

"Yeah, yeah, we were all so drunk we watched teleshopping on rolling repeat for three hours."

"You bought those crystal glasses!" Martha suddenly remembered, struggling to find words between her laughs.

Jack burst out laughing again at the mere thought of that. "I still have them. Oh! D'you remember his birthday the night before Rose found out she was pregnant with Alex?"

"Didn't you wake up in the bathtub?" Martha wondered.

"Wearing absolutely nothing," Jack confirmed.

"No way...!"

"God, I _wish _I could remember how we got there."

"Actually, you probably don't," Martha giggled. "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if this entire thing was a scam. He's fine and he's just putting it on for some reason."

Jack face fell quite abruptly as the laughter quickly died. "... Yeah," was all he responded to that.

"Hey, c'mon, it's only been two days," Martha reminded him.

Jack sighed. "I know. I just need to know Rose and the kids are okay."

"They _are," _Martha replied strongly. "Now let's stop moping and help him. What's next on your agenda after Sarah?"

"I was gonna take him to the supply stores," Jack replied. "See if he can identify some of the alien weapons and artefacts down there."

"Good idea," Martha complimented. "Do you need any help?"

"No... Hey, you know, tell you what. You and Mickey have the day off, we've got nothing on. No one else is in today. I'd like to focus on the Doctor."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay," Martha replied, nodding as she pushed herself out of the chair. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

Sarah left Torchwood at 3pm, having not found a morsel of memory from the Doctor. She had given Jack a big hug of reassurance, almost as compensation.

"These things take time, don't expect everything," she had told him seriously. "Call me if you need me."

"She was nice," was all the Doctor said after she'd left.

"Yeah, she is isn't she," Jack agreed, glancing at him. "Hey, I've got a treat for you. You'll love this."

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"Just come!" Jack said, taking his wrist to pull him to the supply stores. He did feel strangely optimistic about it.

* * *

**A/N: **Translations:

Você consegue me entender agora? Qual é meu nome? - Can you understand me now? What's my name?

Sim, eu entendo, e seu nome é Jack. - Yes, I can, and your name is Jack.

Kkaftk yakkgutuk ktaggka? - What colour is the table?

Ttakku – White

E joi – I'm sorry

Je piha? - What for?


	6. The Bounty Hunter

Chapter 6 – The Bounty Hunter

"Welcome to paradise!" Jack exclaimed, pushing open the door.

The Doctor just stared for a moment at the room. Metal, rusting, filled with cobwebs and stacked high with mismatched creates filled a menagerie of various stuff. He took a step forward, frowning slightly as he looked around.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"Storage," Jack responded, grinning. "Brilliant, right?"

The Doctor took another step, towards an open crate. He peered inside. "Is it?"

"Oh, come on," Jack replied, not losing his grin. "This is playtime."

"How so?" the Doctor wondered, picking out a cubed silver device the size of a dice and looking it over.

"We used to spend our time together down here," Jack explained, far too excited to be disheartened just yet. "When you could escape from Rose and I could escape from Ianto. Just for a couple of hours."

"Doing what?"

"Going through stuff," Jack continued. "It was like our big toy-box."

"I don't remember that."

"It's okay," Jack responded automatically, giving him a smile. It was a few moments before he realised the Doctor was staring at him. "What?"

"Why do you always do that?" he asked, tilting his head like an inquiring dog.

"Do what?"

"Say it's okay."

"Oh!" Jack realised. "I'm just saying it's fine you don't remember."

"But... isn't that the point?" the Doctor wondered.

"Well, yeah, ideally, but you'll do it at your own pace," Jack replied seriously.

"But everyone's doing it."

"We're just trying to make you feel comfortable."

"But... Everyone... Everyone keeps smiling at me, but it's so... It's weird. Their mouths smile but their eyes don't. Like it's really not okay. I mean, I know I'm supposed to be remembering things and when I don't they just... smile. Smile while their eyes cry."

Jack sighed, reaching forward to rest a comforting hand on his arm. "Seriously, would you prefer I punched you every time you can't remember something?"

The Doctor sighed, dropping his head to the floor. "Be about as much use," he muttered.

Jack suddenly laughed, almost hysterically. The Doctor looked up again sharply, a little alarmed at the unexpected outburst, but Jack was still laughing.

"My god, you know who I just heard?" he explained, still laughing.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "You mean...?"

Jack nodded, bringing his laughter to an end as he squeezed the Doctor's shoulder. "Maybe the memory's not so far away, huh?" he said, letting go of his shoulder and pointing at the cube the Doctor was still holding. "This one's brilliant. It's an atmospheric defragmenter, a..."

"Crytos Limited Edition Generation 500 XZ with NCSDPL adaptor," the Doctor finished, before leaning forward to peer in the box in front of him. "... Where's the free keyring?"

Jack just stared at him for a moment, absolutely blown away. "Um, what did you say?"

"This is the version with the free keyring, right?" the Doctor asked, looking up at him. "There are three marks on the side on the keyring version."

"Yeah... lost it. Wait," Jack garbled out, reaching to the box again and pulling out another alien device, handing it to him. "What's this?"

The Doctor only looked at it for about three seconds. "An isomorphic Taxillian D20 shower gun with triangulation sight."

"Blimey," Jack breathed, staring at him. "Come on, over here..."

He pulled the Doctor by the arm through to a box at the end of the room, standing there looking separated and lonely from the rest. A big white sticker was on the side of it, big black felt pen marking the box as **UNIDENTIFIED.**

"Here," Jack said, pulling out one of the three objects inside. It was a slim silver round disc with a few flashing lights on top. "What's this?"

This time he looked at it for five seconds. "A Jaxt electronic AI remote unit."

"What's that do?"

"Remotely controls ServeBots," the Doctor replied.

"Holy..." Jack breathed, too shocked to even finish his blasphemy. "Okay, this one?" He held up what seemed to be an alien helmet of some kind.

"Polonix reinforced energy shield generation 4 police helmet. No... generation 5," the Doctor corrected himself quickly.

"And this?" he held out a thin white tube.

"Looks like a propagated wavelength receiver."

"What's that do?"

"Gets the radio," the Doctor replied, giving it a shake and pressing his ear to it. Nothing came out. "I think the battery's gone. You should get the 420 edition. That's got the unlimited battery."

He held out the propagated wavelength receiver for Jack to take back. Jack did, slowly, just staring at the device. There was complete silence.

An extremely loud siren suddenly burst out through the Hub, the entire room flashing red.

The Doctor looked up, alarmed. "Jack!?" he wailed, reaching out for his friend and finding an arm to hold onto for reassurance.

"Intruder alarm," Jack grated quickly, pulling out his gun. "Follow me very closely, okay? Keep behind me at all times, and stay quiet."

"O-okay," the Doctor replied, stammering with fear. He kept a hand on Jack's arm, refusing to let go as the Captain moved out of the door, checking his gun was loaded on the way. He edged up the stairs and pressed himself against the wall, peering around the corner.

There didn't seem to be anyone there, but the siren was still wailing. He gestured for the Doctor to stay where he was, and then boldly stepped out into the open.

Suddenly the sirens abruptly stopped, but still Jack could hear nothing of anyone else being there. He took a step forward with his gun raised, careful not to make a single sound. Then another step, and then another.

He walked a firm ten paces, but still there was no one or nothing to be seen. He didn't lower his guard though. He would get to the scanner and check the area first...

"JACK!" the Doctor suddenly screamed. Jack whirled back around in an instant, just in time for a completely unfamiliar alien in full leather armour to whack him full around the head with the butt of a long, heavy gun. Barely knowing what had just happened, Jack collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

"No!" the Doctor screamed as Jack hit the floor. He just stood shock still as the alien that had come out of nowhere slowly lowered his gun, and then turned to the Doctor. It just smiled at the sight of him, raising the gun again and pointing it straight at the Doctor. The Doctor didn't react.

"Are you Echo?" it asked in a deep, gruff voice, its thin red eyes drilling into his.

"... W-What?" the Doctor asked fearfully.

"Simple enough question. Are you Echo?"

"I... I don't know what you mean," the Doctor said quickly.

"I ain't got time to play games," the alien spat, walking forward with the gun still held aloft – inches from the Doctor's face. The Doctor still didn't flinch at it whatsoever, just looking at the gun curiously. "I know Echo is here. Where is it?"

"You... Do you mean echoes as in the reflection of sound?" the Doctor asked.

The alien suddenly looked appalled, but somehow also amused, as though he couldn't quite believe the Doctor had the nerve to say that to him. "... Are you really clever or just really thick?"

The Doctor didn't know what to say to that at all, his eyes flicking to Jack still lying on the floor. "... I don't know," he ended up whining.

The alien sighed, brandishing his gun again. "You know, normally I get a way quicker answer than this."

"... I'm sorry," the Doctor replied, not knowing what else to say.

The alien sighed heavily, pulling something out of his pouch and pointing it at the Doctor. He pressed a button and the device began to beep in a rush of electronic frenzy, before finally pinging. The alien checked the screen... and suddenly his eyes widened dramatically.

"K'ashi shintaka'e," the alien swore, staring at him in horror. "What's your name?" he asked quickly.

"... The Doctor," the Doctor answered, eyes again flickering to the unconscious Jack.

The alien continued to stare at him, slowly raising the scanning device to his lips. He flicked a switch, and began to speak into it slowly and measuredly, his gun still at the Doctor's face and his eyes still fixed on the Doctor's.

"This is Kigha, calling from Sol 3. I have located the Doctor. I repeat, I have located the Doctor."

He waited, but nothing came back.

"I repeat, this is Kigha calling from Sol 3, are you receiving me?"

Nothing came back.

"For Kichan's sake, why isn't this fulaking piece of lint'so working?" he grated, shaking the device.

"Maybe if you went overground," the Doctor suggested helpfully.

"Yeah, thanks," the alien grated, shoving the device back into his pouch. "All right," he sighed, gesturing with his gun. "You're coming with me, Doctor."

"But... I don't want to," the Doctor protested, standing still.

"Don't you know what this thing is!?" the alien grunted, waving his gun to indicate his point.

"It's a Cha'sun 6020.5 sun-charged rifle with burst assault and sniper switch. Also with some modifications of a guided sight and thermal detection," the Doctor replied without hesitation. "Are you learning, then?"

"What?"

"That's the beginner's option package. Are you still learning?"

"No!" the alien responded quickly – a little too quickly. "I just... Oh, shut up! If you don't follow me I'll shoot you!"

The Doctor suddenly looked very frightened. "What? Why would you do that?"

"Err, because I have a gun, and you're starting to piss me off."

"But why would you point it at another person?"

"To make them do what you want!" the alien replied, utterly exasperated. "Just follow me already!"

"Else you'll shoot me?"

"Yes!"

"But..."

"Shintaka'e chas fu!" the alien exclaimed impatiently, raised the gun and whacked the Doctor around the head.

* * *

"Doctor? Doctor, wake up," Jack's voice said in the murkiness, and the Doctor opened his eyes slowly, his head pounding in pain. He looked up at Jack who was kneeling by. No one else was around, and he instantly relaxed.

"Jack," he whined.

"S'alright, you're safe. I got him just as he hit you," Jack told him patiently. "How are you feeling?"

The Doctor dared to sit up, but even as he rose his head began to spin and he dropped down to his elbow, blinking a few times to try and straighten things out. He held a hand to his forehead, and found blood came away with his fingertips. "I'm bleeding," he realised, staring at blood on his fingers in wonder.

"Don't worry, I'll clean you up," Jack said. "Nothing serious. You're always getting whacked around the head by stuff. Martha thinks your skull must be made of concrete to last this long."

Jack laughed at his own joke, but the Doctor just looked confused. "Wouldn't that be too heavy for my neck?"

Jack just rolled his eyes at that, getting to his feet and helping the Time Lord up in the process. "So literal. Let's get you to the med-bay."

"What about you?" the Doctor asked, grasping onto Jack with both hands to try and stay upright. "He hit you too?"

"Oh, my head really _is _made of concrete," Jack assured him, and walked him to the medbay. On the route they walked around a strange lump on the floor covered by a sheet of tarpaulin with a stain of red that was slowly creeping out from the edges into a large puddle on the floor.

They reached the med-bay and Jack guided him to sit on the table. The Doctor waited patiently, still holding his head as Jack hunted in the drawers.

"Doesn't Martha do this?" the Doctor wondered.

"She does the more clever stuff. I've been trained for first aid on the battlefield, a hit head is no problem," Jack assured him, finally finding the box he needed and pulling it out of the drawer.

"You've been in a war?" the Doctor realised.

"Many, many wars. So have you," Jack said off-handedly, finding some wipes to dab his bloody forehead.

"Have I?"

"Many, many wars," Jack repeated, a lot quieter this time before he suddenly raised his voice again. "Did that bounty hunter say anything to you?"

"Bounty hunter?" the Doctor echoed.

"Oh, sorry, yeah. He was a bounty hunter. Did he say anything to you?"

"He scanned me and tried to communicate with someone. But he couldn't get through and wanted me to go with him," the Doctor replied, frowning. "Oh, and he kept asking if I was an echo."

Jack suddenly stiffened, pausing in his dabbing. "Echo? He said Echo?"

"Yeah. I thought an echo was the reflection of sound. Does it mean something else?"

"Geez," Jack grated, tilting his head to try and recall something. "The reign of Echo..."

"What's that?"

"It's what the piece of paper said, the one I gave to you the night you disappeared. It said... the reign of Echo will begin."

The Doctor suddenly flinched quite abruptly, his hand snapping to his head.

Jack drew back instantly, concerned. "What's wrong? Did I touch your wound too hard?"

"I th-think so," the Doctor replied, stumbling slightly in his words before looking up again. "S-sorry."

"Oh no, my fault. Sorry," Jack assured him, and finished cleaning him up. "Now, go to bed, we've had enough excitement for one day."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "But I..."

"Go to bed," Jack reinforced. "I'm gonna be right out here. Nothing's gonna happen to you."

The Doctor began to shake, as though he were suppressing tears. So Jack took him into a comforting hug, holding him tightly for quite a while until the shaking subsided and the Doctor drew away, nodding firmly as though he'd just made the biggest decision of his life.

"Okay," he muttered, got up, and left the room. Twenty seconds later, the hatch door of Jack's room closed.

Jack waited for two minutes, anticipating the Doctor to come back out again at any minute. But he didn't. So Jack got up off of the table and walked back into the main Hub, straight to the tarpaulin. He drew it back from the corner, flinching slightly as he did so.

There the alien lay exactly as he had died. His hands were still clenched around the handle of his own sword that he'd put through his own stomach. Harakiri, the mark of the captured universal bounty hunter to save face before death. A universal bounty hunter on the hunt for Echo, who he had traced to here.

Jack bit his lip. He had nowhere to take the Doctor for safety. He'd have to up the defences of the Hub, just in case there were anymore.

The blood of the bounty hunter was still creeping towards him. Even though the Doctor had probably seen numerous bodies like this, many in even worse states, Jack _still _didn't want his own Doctor to see it. Like a naïve child. In many ways he was.

He cleaned it up, every last drop of blood he could see, and then went to bed.

* * *

**A/N:** Gaah. Plot building. Come ooon! *dances on feet impatiently*


	7. Dear Diary 2

**A/N: **Hello new people! Thank you! You deserved a chapter. It's a disappointing one, I'm afraid. All that wait for this pile of smeg. Enjoy!

Smut a little way in, nothing particularly graphic, though. I couldn't deny that poor innocent-looking smut bunny with those big cute eyes. You have been warned. And up goes my rating. :o It was inevitable.

* * *

Chapter 7 – Dear Diary 2

**7****th**** February 2009 (Earth time) – Leah 4 months old**

_Dear Diary,_

_Today was great, Jack called us this morning saying it had snowed in Cardiff last night, and Leah's never seen snow before..._

* * *

The Doctor woke up, and instantly felt confused.

He opened his eyes, one at a time, wondering what on Gallifrey was different about today. He was in his and Rose's room, in bed, in his shirt and trousers – that was normal. His arm was around Rose, who was fast asleep, snoring. That was normal.

"Rose," he whispered, shaking her. "Rose. Are you awake?"

"No," she murmured, turning over to bury her head in his chest, and then suddenly opened her eyes to stare at him. "... Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"Something's... different."

"Yes," he agreed, and then frowned. "Do you know what's different?"

There was a very long pause, Rose' face slowly becoming more and more blank until she suddenly gasped, straightening up. "Leah!"

The Doctor's jaw dropped, and he quickly scrambled over to grab the baby monitor Jack had given them for Christmas on the bedside table, hitting up the volume and holding it between his and Rose's ears. They listened intently, only to hear the sound of rhythmic, calm breathing of Leah sleeping like a baby.

"Oh my god," Rose realised, hand over her mouth.

"It's 9am," the Doctor added, checking the clock. "It's... It's 9am," he repeated, almost disbelieving his own eyes.

"She slept through the night! Oh God!" she cried in utter joy, slamming her lips onto his in an impulsive snog.

When they both drew back for air, both of them were utterly stunned at what had just happened.

"My god," Rose muttered as she realised... "How long has it been since we...?"

"Months," he replied.

"All right," she said, nodding to herself. Then, with the energy acquired from a full night's sleep and without even a single word exchanged between them, Rose was removing his shirt and throwing it at the wall in a fit of spontaneous passion. There wasn't even any consultation when she completely undressed him, and he just laid there on the bed, utterly naked and feeling a little bit like a surprised tortoise that had just been flipped onto its back.

She swung her leg over to straddle him, still completely clothed. Very quickly it became obvious that this time she wasn't in it for herself, she was far most interested in him – and from past experiences he knew this didn't mean at all that the ball was in his park. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was going to make this _agonising._

She started _really_ getting to work then, and he could do nothing but occasionally gasp and beg and try to grab her in desperation, but he was pinned down underneath her, his arms included. It carried on for a while – she liked it that way. She liked drawing it out for him; making it the most painfully slow but always in the end the most unbelievably satisfying experience every single damn time.

He was a Gallifreyan, Gallifreyans didn't feel pleasure – at least, not to the massive extent humans did. One finger in the right place on her fragile human body made her quite literally explode, but with him it took work and skill to take make him feel that sort of high... and she was slowly but very surely getting it down to an art-form. She was _determined _to, and she was only going to get better. He wasn't sure if he looked forward to or dreaded that.

He knew she loved torturing him like this. She liked experimenting with him to discover more and more about him and what ticked his boxes. He didn't even dare to tell her about his quite easily accessible g-spot, because she would _massacre _him with that fountain of sadistic pleasure she had that he had _seriously _not anticipated when he first blew up her job.

Speaking of jobs, she was still doing a pretty good job right now. But she was really, really going for it, even more than usual. She was taking him to the brink, as electric coursed through his entire body at her touch; his skin hot and his body trembling, heading for the climax like a rocket fired up into the air heading to break atmosphere...

"Rose!" he gasped out, unable to control it as she went faster, and faster, and...

Rose's phone rang.

"Hold on," she muttered, pecking him a kiss before clambering off of him.

"No, no," the Doctor protested, holding out his hands to try and pull her back, but she already had her phone in hand. "No!"

"Hello?"

"Rose!"

"Shut up, Doctor, I'll finish in a minute... Yeah, Jack? … No, I'm free..."

"No, she isn't!" the Doctor squeaked.

"No, he can wait... Haha, very funny. What is it?"

The Doctor had reached desperation. He strayed a hand down to finish the job himself but Rose quickly grabbed it with her free hand.

"No, Doctor," she said seriously, and then turned her attention back to the phone. "Sorry, Jack, it's what? … Oh! I'll tell him." She looked at the Doctor. "It's snowin'."

"Err, no it isn't!" he insisted, nodding down his body.

"No, in Cardiff," she clarified, grinning.

"So!?"

"Leah hasn't seen snow yet."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll take her, can you please..."

"Yeah, we'll see you in a bit..." Rose continued down the phone, ignoring him. "Thanks... Bye!" She hung up, made a very long time of putting the phone away, and finally after many painful seconds she looked at him, grinning cheekily. "... Where was I?"

"ROSE!" he yelled, and she just laughed before finally finishing him off. He cried out in a combination of relief, pleasure and utter exaltation, for a few seconds afterwards just laid there panting with his eyes closed. "I hate you," he finally breathed.

"You love me," she corrected, kissing him again before jumping out of bed and searching for some warm clothes. "Let's go to Cardiff."

"What, now?" he whined, still panting.

"Yes, now," she insisted, and threw a pair of boxers at his head.

* * *

"Doctor, I think she's got enough layers on," Rose said seriously as the Doctor wrapped a scarf around the 4-month-old, who was lying on the bed looking like the Michelin Man with her legs and arms stuck out, barely able to move.

"Just want her to be warm," the Doctor insisted, checking the scarf was all wrapped around several times and tucked into her coat.

Rose watched the little four-month-old's big brown eyes flicker around the room, looking somewhat confused. "Doctor, it's just Cardiff, it's not the Arctic."

"I know, I know," the Doctor muttered, finally taking the girl into both arms, holding her at arm's length. "There, Leah. If you get cold then just... wave your arms at me, okay?"

Rose's brow furrowed. "Not sure if she can do that."

The Doctor ignored that, putting Leah down into the pushchair, strapping her in before turning to Rose. "We're ready!"

* * *

They took Leah out of the Hub, where several other families were playing in the snow. They found a spare spot and the Doctor parked the pushchair, kneeling down next to it.

"Hey Leah, look, snow!" the Doctor enthused, pointing at the white stuff on the ground.

"Sow," Leah suddenly said, looking at him with a smile.

"Yeah, snow!" the Doctor replied happily, grinning. "See, snow is precipitation in the form of icecrystals. It originates in clouds when temperatures are below the freezing point, which is 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit. To form ice crystals, the water vapour in the atmosphere condenses directly into ice without going through the liquid stage, so once an ice crystal has formed, it absorbs and freezes additional water vapour from the surrounding air, growing into a snow crystal or snow pellet, which then falls to Earth. Great, isn't it?"

Leah stared at him blankly as Rose just rolled her eyes, smiling.

"And the _other _fascinating thing about snow is that _technically _it's a mineral! Because a mineral is defined as a naturally occurring homogeneous solid, inorganically formed, with a definite chemical composition and an ordered atomic arrangement. So if we look at ice, which little bits of snow, we know that ice is naturally occurring, homogeneous, formed inorganically, and has an ordered atomic structure. Ice has a definite chemical composition, with hydrogen and oxygen atoms bonding in a specific manner. So there you go! Snow is a mineral!"

Leah continued to stare at him blankly.

"Doctor," Rose said, struggling not to laugh. "Shut up and let's make a Mineral Man."

"Rightiho!" the Doctor enthused, taking Leah out of her pushchair and sitting crossed-legged in the snow, putting Leah in his lap. He carefully reached forward to begin gathering snow into a pile. It was around that point he noticed a lot of people seemed to be staring at him.

"Rose," he began in a mutter to her. "Why's every one staring at me?"

"Because you're sittin' in the snow in a suit and converse," she replied, gathering up some snow in massive bright pink fur-lined waterproof triple-thick gloves.

"Oh," he realised. Then he shrugged, and continued gathering snow to put into a pile.

* * *

The snowman began to take shape very quickly. Leah watched with undying attention, occasionally belting out, "sow!" and laughing for apparently no reason. The Doctor could tell she wanted to help so halfway through he got up and held her upright in front of him, encouraging her to pick up some snow. With four-month-old clumsiness she did, and looked incredibly proud of the tiny snow pile she had created.

"Well done!" Rose enthused like it was the greatest thing ever to have been created in the history of the universe.

"Fanns," Leah replied, then pulled away from her Dad's hands and toddled unsteadily across the snow.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, her hand going to her mouth. "She's walkin'!"

The Doctor just laughed, filled with utter joy at the sight of his little girl walking, if but a little awkwardly towards her mother. Halfway she stumbled and fell down onto her rump, and for a moment just sat there looking a bit surprised at what had just happened... and then burst into tears.

Rose just laughed, gathering Leah up into her arms and holding the girl tightly. "Aww, well done, I love you."

"Uv voo," Leah replied with the tears instantly gone, and looked around at her still elated dad. "Dadda, uv voo."

The Doctor's jaw dropped, as did Rose. He raised a hand to point at her, staring at Rose. "Did she just...?"

"Ahhh!" was all Rose could muster as the excitement of the situation overwhelmed her. She kissed her daughter and squeezed her tightly in her little puffy pink coat. "Love you!"

The Doctor was already beside her, both parents now hugging her in tandem. They must have looked insane to everyone else but neither of them cared.

* * *

_We finished the snowman and the Doctor took a picture of me and Leah standing by it. _

_Best day ever._

_Rose x_


	8. Failing Faith

**A/N: **I do actually have a proper, PROPER excuse this time. One of my few real genuine excuses! I've just moved house. We couldn't afford a lorry/man with van so I didn't have a computer for a week as we transported bit by bit. I've written this chapter sitting on the floor with the monitor standing on a speaker turned sideways because I don't have my desk yet. See? REALLY. I HAVE THE CARPET BURNS TO PROVE IT AND EVERYTHING! :o

* * *

Chapter 8 – Failing Faith

"_More uncertainty at the Shadow Proclamation today as another surprise death occurs. Last night a member of the hierarchy was discovered dead in the dining area. The Shadow Proclamation has not released any form of statement and are refusing to acknowledge the deaths except to their inner circle. The deaths are said to be being treated as suspicious."_

"Wow, d'you think it's murders?" Mickey asked.

"Sounds like it," Jack replied in a murmur, staring at the the TV. After a moment he took a side-glance at the Doctor who was just staring into his cup of tea in silence. It had been a long night again. The Doctor had woken up at 3am this time and had refused to go back to sleep. It was starting to get ridiculous and Jack was starting to get very tired.

"Morning!" Martha enthused as she walked in, smiling. She was only met with an eager response from Mickey and a murmur of greeting from Jack and the Doctor. Her eyes panned over them, sitting there looking tired and dejected. She moved over to the Doctor, taking the seat next to him. "Doctor?"

"... Yeah?" he asked, looking up.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not good," he replied, his head down.

"What's wrong? Shoulder?"

He nodded.

"Get into the med-bay and I'll take a look, okay?"

The Doctor nodded, got up, and left without another word. Martha looked at Jack questioningly.

"We had a long night," Jack muttered.

"What happened?"

"You know I took him to storage? He couldn't remember what we'd done there – not a clue. But then he identified a lot of objects, even the ones in the unidentified box."

"What do you mean by identified?" Martha asked.

"I'm pretty sure I could've asked him for the serial number."

"Oh," Martha realised, hand over mouth.

"Not just that, halfway through a bounty hunter broke into the Hub. He was looking for something called Echo. He knocked me out and nearly took the Doctor with him. The Doctor got knocked out too but I sorted it and he went to bed. Then the Doctor woke up at 3am screaming."

Martha frowned. "Wait. A bounty hunter?"

Jack nodded. "I'm gonna have to up security, and do lock-downs during the night. If that bounty hunter traced his target to here then loads more might be on the way. I've told everyone to keep a loaded gun nearby. You should too."

Martha ignored the latter comment. "What happened to the bounty hunter?"

"Harakiri," Jack muttered. "It's a code... A code amongst universal bounty hunters. If they're caught, the only option is harakiri."

Martha nodded and moved on. "The Doctor's still having nightmares, then?"

Jack sighed. "It's getting worse. He was practically convulsing on the floor last night. It took even longer to wake him up this time."

"Does he remember the nightmare yet?"

"No."

"Okay. One thing at time. Let's get to the med-bay... And Jack," she added, gazing at him. "Stick with it."

Jack just nodded.

* * *

The scan revealed the Doctor's shoulder was healing fast – at his usual rate, anyway. The area was still damaged but well on the way to repairing. Martha gave him a painkiller, reapplied the bandage, and the Doctor barely spoke a word during it.

"Is anything else hurting?" Martha wondered after she'd finished, seeing the Doctor still subdued.

He shook his head. She glanced at Jack, and then reached for the Doctor's hand with both of hers.

"I'd like to do a full deep body scan, if that's okay with you," she said gently. "Just to see if there's anything else that might be wrong. It'll take a good few hours but I'll put you to sleep during it, if you'd like me to. Is that all right?"

The Doctor finally looked up, his deep brown yet utterly innocent eyes looking around her face. Not her eyes.

"Okay," he finally said.

She smiled. "All right, lie down."

The Doctor did, just gazing up at the ceiling. As Martha pulled in the full deep scan next to him, the Doctor suddenly looked at Jack standing there with his arms folded.

"Jack?" he asked quietly.

Jack didn't move. "Yeah?"

"... Please will you hold my hand?"

"Why?"

"I'm scared."

Jack died a little more inside, but forced a reassuring smile. "Sure," he said, taking the Gallifreyan's hand as Martha took a needle from the table, filling it up with a strange black liquid.. The Doctor saw it, his eyes widening.

"What's that!?" he asked anxiously.

"To put you to sleep," Martha assured him quickly. "I'll inject it into your arm. It's your own concoction so it's perfectly safe."

"... Okay," the Doctor eventually replied.

"Do you want to be put to sleep?"

The Doctor swallowed, glancing between her face and the needle. "Will I have a nightmare thing?"

"No," Martha replied. "It will put you in a dreamless sleep."

"Okay," the Doctor said again, nodding once.

She took his arm gently and turned up his forearm, lowering the needle to an exposed vein. "There'll be a short sharp scratch in your arm, and then you'll fall asleep."

"Okay," he said for the third time. "Good night," he suddenly added.

She smiled briefly. "Good night."

She administered the substance, and the Doctor's eyes instantly clouded over, his eyelids drooped, and within moments his head lolled and he was unconscious.

"What is that stuff?" Jack wondered as Martha initiated the scan.

"We didn't name it. He wanted something that would knock him out instantly, so we spent a few weeks in the Tardis labs." She suddenly laughed, recalling the memory. "We kept testing on him, thought one didn't work, so I turned to clean up and next thing I hear it a little whine and a thunk, then he's on the floor singing the Teletubbies theme tune in a high-pitched voice."

Jack couldn't help but laugh at that, before looking back down at the Doctor lying there. "Can we use that stuff to help him sleep?"

Martha shook her head. "We haven't tested it for long-term use. It's only supposed to be for emergencies."

"Then is there anything else we can give him?"

"No."

Jack sighed. "Really?"

Martha paused before she answered, frowning as she thought about that. "I suppose we could do a placebo."

"You mean a sugar pill?"

Martha nodded. "Maybe if we give him something we tell him will do the job his mind will believe it and it won't happen."

"Well we've gotta try something," Jack murmured, still holding the Doctor's hand. He was gazing down at it, each finger exactly how they'd always been. Long and thin, even the little brown spot in the centre of his palm was there. "He needs to sleep."

_And so do I._

He didn't say that bit. Because it almost felt like the Doctor might be starting to become an annoyance to him, and Jack _hated _himself for thinking anything like that.

* * *

They waited six hours for the deep scan to complete. Martha processed the results quickly, the Doctor still fast asleep during it. When they finally came through, Martha's jaw dropped almost instantaneously.

"What? What is it?" Jack asked anxiously, diving to the screen.

"... No, it's probably nothing," Martha eventually decided.

"What?" Jack asked again, scanning his eyes over the screen. He didn't see it until Martha pointed it out – a tiny black spot just at the base of his neck at the back.

Wordlessly, she began to zoom in, further and further until they could make out what it was.

It was a tiny electronic chip.

"Is that... Is that a tracker chip?" Jack asked, his voice barely above a whisper for the shock.

"I don't know, I couldn't be sure... but probably," Martha muttered back.

Jack looked at her. "Why the hell has he got a tracker chip in him?"

"Someone wants to keep an eye on him?" she suggested.

"We need to get rid of it."

"That's going to be tricky," Martha said quickly, her hand in the air. "It's on his spinal cord. One wrong move and he'll be quadriplegic."

"But we can't leave it in there!" Jack protested.

For a moment there was complete silence as they both just stared at the sleeping Doctor – completely oblivious to anything going on around him. Completely helpless. Completely vulnerable. And being watched by someone or something that had possibly been the power that had reduced him to this empty shell of a man.

Long seconds passed.

"We've got 56 minutes until he wakes up." Martha suddenly said.

Jack nodded, instantly convinced. "Let's try and get it out."

* * *

The Doctor woke up 56 minutes later, a sharp pain in his neck and a sombre-looking Martha and Jack looking down at him. Confused, he blinked a few times to focus and reached up to the back of his neck, frowning.

"No, don't touch it," Jack said quickly, grabbing the Doctor's hand.

"What happened?" the Doctor asked, worried at Jack's anxiety.

"The scan revealed something inside your neck, attached to your spinal cord," Martha told him gently. "We think it might be a tracker."

"We tried to get it out but we couldn't, it's still in there," Jack continued, gazing at the Doctor to see if he'd understood the gravity of the situation. He obviously hadn't, just lying there looking very blank indeed.

Jack sighed, and tried again. "Okay. There's a little device inside you that someone has put there so they can keep an eye on where you go. It's so deeply embedded in you we would have badly hurt you by removing it. So it's still functional. This was probably what the bounty hunter was drawn to last night."

"... Oh," the Doctor realised.

"Is anything coming back?" Jack asked quickly. "You've got someone or something tracking your whereabouts – probably the thing that wiped your mind too. We really need to know what happened to you."

The Doctor looked up at him, wide-eyed and completely honest. "I... I can't remember."

Jack sighed again, this time a pronounced sigh that was very, very noticeable; a sigh of a man being almost completely fed up with his situation. "Right," was all he said, and left out the door very quickly indeed.

The Doctor swallowed nervously looking at Martha. "He's mad because I can't remember anything, isn't he?"

Martha avoided answering the question. "We're all a bit stressed."

"I want to remember, Martha."

"I know," she assured him, squeezing his hand. "You'll get there."

* * *

Martha got some placebos for the Doctor, which he took before he went to bed, convinced it would fix him. It made no difference. The now familiar shrieking scream came from Jack's room at 5am, and this time Gwen and Martha were there to see it for themselves.

They both rushed to it, dropping down the hole-in-the-floor to be confronted with the sight of the Doctor half-on and half-off of the bed, entangled in the sheets, screaming and convulsing badly.

"Doctor!" Martha yelped, trying desperately to wake him up by shaking his shoulders as Gwen pulled him free of the covers. "Doctor!"

He wasn't waking up, just lying there screaming and repeatedly whacking his head against the floor. Gwen grabbed a cushion and slipped it under to stop him hurting himself.

"What the hell is this?" Gwen yelped desperately.

"Don't know..." Martha shook him again, and eventually took his body into both arms to give him a tight hug, running a hand through his hair like she'd seen Rose do for him so many times before to comfort him. It was a long shot, but maybe, instinctively, he would be familiar with the touch and he would calm?

It didn't work. He continued to scream and thrash. It had been over two minutes, now.

"Hold him, I need to get my kit," Martha said quickly to Gwen, who obediently took over as Martha rushed to the med-bay. By the time Martha got back, Gwen had managed to subdue him a little.

"Hold him, still as you can," Martha said quickly, pulling out a needle and administering it. Within moments he stopped spasming, and opened his eyes.

"Gwen? Martha?" he asked, his words somewhat slurred as he shivered badly.

"You're okay," Gwen assured him. "We're just going to get you back on the bed. Hold on."

With teamwork the two women picked his almost completely rigid body up between them and placed him gently on the bed. He was wide-eyed, staring at the both of them with tears in his eyes.

"Please don't make me go back to sleep," he begged, still shaking.

"No, god no," Gwen said quickly, hugging him again. "Do you remember the dream?"

"No," the Doctor croaked, letting a tear slip. "Where's Jack? I... I want Jack. I'm scared."

"I'll see if he's awake," Martha said, rushing out of the door.

* * *

Jack was on the floor of his office on a hastily-made makeshift bed, perfectly awake and staring at the wall.

He'd heard the Doctor screaming. Every nanosecond of it.

When Martha came up to see if he was awake, he kept his eyes firmly closed to pretend he was fast asleep.

It worked. She left after twenty seconds.

He turned over to try and get more comfortable, desperately trying to ignore his conscience.


	9. Anger

**A/N: **Aww yay! people still here. Thanks to everyone that's reading and dropped a review so far, you're all extremely lovely people. I will review reply next chapter because 10 is an even number and even numbers are, like, well cool.

* * *

Chapter 9 – Anger

Jack was in his office finishing loading up his gun when a knock on the door came at 10am.

"Come in," Jack replied, somewhat distractedly.

"Jack?" it was the Doctor. "Are you okay? You weren't at breakfast."

Jack got up from his chair, slipping the gun into his holster and finally looked up at the Doctor standing there, arms hanging loosely at his sides. Jack broadened a smile at him. There wasn't really much feeling in it. It was more sort of mandatory with the Doctor, now.

"I'm fine," he answered, moving to pass the Doctor out of the door.

"Where are you going?" the Doctor asked.

"Reported sighting of a weevil on the loose, we're heading out for a look."

"Can I come?"

"No."

"Okay."

Jack gritted his teeth, suddenly incredibly agitated. "Stop _doing _that."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Doing what?"

"You'd _fight _me!"

"Would I?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, sorry," the Doctor said quickly, before raising his voice just a tad in a pathetic attempt to sound demanding, "I want to come!"

Jack sighed, looking up at the Doctor standing there trying desperately to be affirmative to please him, but really only a mouse in big boots.

Nowhere _near_ his Doctor.

"Forget it," Jack muttered, and then left without another word.

* * *

"Okay, what colour are her eyes?"

"I don't know."

"Her hair? What about her hair? What colour is it"

"I don't know."

"Is it long? Short? Curly?"

"I don't know..."

Martha just stared at the frowning Doctor, trying desperately to calm herself down. She'd been avoiding this topic for a while now, as she was terrified of what his answer would be. Finally having sufficiently psyched herself up for it that very morning, she had asked the question and as all her nightmares were realised in his reply, she almost felt like bursting into tears for him.

He couldn't remember his own _mother._

Different approach. She pushed forward a pen and paper to him. "Okay, draw your idea of a perfect mum."

"What?" he asked, gazing at her in confusion.

"Draw a face with hair or a hat or anything you like, of someone you'd like to be your mum."

"Okay," he said, still frowning. He clutched the pen in his fist like a small child, and lowered the pen to paper. He drew a vague approximation of a circle, juddery and slow. Martha's eyes slowly widened as horror filled her...

"Hold on," she said quickly, flipping over the paper. "Just... write your name for me, okay? In English."

He stared at the paper for a while, as if trying to work something out. Then he drew a direct vertical line downwards. After a few more moments of thought, he connected the two ends of the vertical line in an over-sized semi-circle of a very badly-written D. He seemed pleased with himself, and moved onto the O. The connecting line went too far. The following C didn't go around far enough, the T looked like an F, the second O was far too big and the R became a backwards capital.

The Doctor drew back, looking pleased, at least until he saw Martha's face.

"Is that not right?" he asked, apprehensive.

Martha didn't answer, just staring at the mess he'd made of writing his own name. Like a tiny child learning to write his name for the first time.

It made her feel very, very sick.

"Martha?" he wondered.

"Oh God," was all she croaked.

"What?"

"Just... Look, give me a while to think," she said dismissively, taking the piece of paper and pen from him to stare at the writing closer. "Have a rest."

"Okay," he replied, getting up, but suddenly stopping. "Wait, Martha?"

"Yes?" she asked, a little stressed.

"I think I annoyed Jack this morning..."

She looked up at him suddenly. "What? How?"

"I don't know, he was annoyed at me. How can I make it up to him? I want him to like me."

"He does like you, he was probably just focused on the job today," Martha assured him quickly. "He loves you."

"Really?" the Doctor wondered.

"Really," Martha confirmed. "Tell you what you could do, though. His office is a mess; you could tidy it for him."

"Okay," the Doctor said, suddenly spreading a smile. "Thank you," he added, and then left with a renewed bounce in his step.

* * *

The Doctor went straight to Jack's office, and set to work. He roamed through the files in cabinets to make sure everything got put in the right place. He even reorganised them into labelled cabinets and alphabetised into the relevant group. He polished the wood, cleaned the metal and made everything neat, tidy and shiny inside-out.

He then moved onto the desk. In the drawers he found a menagerie of objects, including three Webley Mk IV guns and a few cases of .38 caliber bullets in the lower left drawer. In the top left was a stack of takeaway menus. In the bottom right was a half empty bottle of whiskey and some odds and ends for electronics. The top right drawer was locked. So he polished the guns, threw away the out of date menus and organised the new ones by food type, before finally organising the electronics in sections by function.

The whole session took three hours. By the time he was done the Doctor was exhausted, standing there staring at his work with pride. At least until he saw the top of a particularly high cabinet that he had missed – a few miscellaneous items scattered on top. He moved to take a closer look.

It was a mess up there; objects of Jack's left lonely and abandoned. Amongst abandoned files and CDs was a toy figurine of Obi-Wan Kenobi, stood there on the edge covered in dust from lack of love.

The Doctor turned back to the table to get a chair to perch on, but accidentally knocked the file cabinet with his elbow. Something wobbled and he turned back just in time to see Obi-Wan Kenobi fall to the hard, metal floor, where his right arm and leg snapped off on contact.

"Oh no," the Doctor whined, pure fear instantly rising up and gripping his throat as he dropped to his knees beside the toy, picking up the pieces and cradling it in his hands. He'd broken Jack's possession...

For a while he just stared at it, not knowing at all what to do. At least until the door opened and Jack walked in. He did a double-take at the Doctor kneeling there on the floor.

"What are you...?" His eyes drifted to the broken toy. "Oh."

"I'm so sorry, Jack," the Doctor whined, looking up at him like a kid who'd just broken his mum's favourite necklace. "It was an accident..."

Jack just sighed, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah, yeah. It's fine," he fobbed off, walking right past the Doctor to his gun drawer. He looked at the Doctor again, who continued to just stare at him with those big, innocent brown eyes. "Look, just get out, all right? I've got things to do."

"But..."

"I said get out, Doctor."

The Doctor slowly clambered to his feet, still holding the toy. "I'll... I'll try and fix it for you."

Jack suddenly flared up, slamming his fist on the table in agitation. "I don't _care_ about the fucking _toy_, justget_ out!"_

For a moment, there was an angry silence as Jack stared at him with maddened eyes, unblinking.

It was only a matter of seconds until the Doctor ran out of the door as quickly as he could, sprinting down the stairs, avoiding anyone else. He ran across the Hub to a set of stairs, descending down and taking a left through a door he'd never been through before.

He closed the door quietly, and then leant back against it, closing his eyes for a moment to try and stop himself from crying. It didn't work. He slipped down to the floor to curl into the foetal position, still holding Obi-Wan as though it were his only possession in the world.

There was suddenly a whistling sound. He looked up through wet eyes, and realised something was living just down the corridor out of sight.

He hastily wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve and got up quietly, still clutching onto Obi-Wan. He started forwards, ever so carefully, until he reached the source of the noise – a creature behind a clear screen, whistling.

The Doctor pocketed Obi-Wan and just stared at the strange creature. It slowly turned its head towards him – hairless, veiny and wrinkled with an extremely wide nose and tiny ears. It widened its mouth to expose numerous pointy teeth at the Doctor, and then fixed its gaze on him.

"Hello?" the Doctor asked, and then realised something was happening to his head. A sadness. An incredible sadness was wafting through his mind like wandering fog, easing in gently. The Doctor nearly started crying again as the incredibly powerful feeling took hold... and he knew what was happening instinctively. This creature was incredibly sad for some reason, and he was feeling its sadness.

The Doctor frowned, reaching out a hand to rest on the wall between them. Their eyes were still fixed to each other.

Then the creature stopped whistling, and it began to growl. A deep, throaty growl. The Doctor didn't see it as threatening in the least... He saw an affinity...

And then the feeling of sadness was being wiped over, wiped over with a feeling of pure anger. The Doctor's heartsbeat increased as he began to see nothing but red; his teeth gritted, his eyes narrowing...

Then he growled in return. He did it without even realising. He was panting and growling carnally, his hand clenching on the dividing wall, carving fingernail scrapes down it as the world began to blur into a merging of colours. He'd never felt anger before. This was anger. This was _rage. _This was _liberating..._

"Doctor?"

Martha's voice cut through the anger like a knife through butter. He jerked abruptly away from the wall, and left the creature to run up the stairs to the main Hub where he met Martha and Jackie standing side by side.

"Jackie's here to see you," she said to him, smiling.

The Doctor didn't smile back.

She frowned at that. "Are you-"

Jackie swiftly interrupted, a woman clearly in despair. "Doctor, can we have a chat?"

"Yeah," he said, but didn't move.

Martha glanced between the Doctor and Jackie. "Umm, I'll leave you two alone," she said, smiling sheepishly and wandering off across the Hub.

"Doctor," Jackie launched straight into it. "I can't... I can't bloody take this anymore. I need to know. Please tell me if Rose and the kids are okay. Please tell me you remember..."

"I don't know... I'm sorry," was all the Doctor could reply.

"You have to think!" she demanded. "I _have_ to know she's alive!"

"I don't know!" the Doctor repeated, far more forcefully.

"It's in there somewhere!"

Suddenly the Doctor stepped forward towards her, his fists clenched, staring at her hatefully. "I don't know this Rose and I don't know where she is, all right!?"

"Don't get angry with me!" she spat, hands on hips.

"Oh, I'm sorry, what am I _supposed _to do!?" he screamed back, fully enraged now. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do! How would the Doctor react then!? How would your fucking saintly Doctor react to this!? Because I don't know! Maybe he'd do this!"

He ran over to the computer terminals and yanked a monitor off of the wall, before lifting it above his head smashing it on the floor where it fragmented into a million pieces. He took the keyboard and threw it across the Hub.

"Come on!" he implored. "Stop me if this isn't what I'm supposed to do, mother-in-law!"

Jackie didn't have a clue what to do, but was thankfully saved by the arrival of Martha, running to the Doctor.

"Doctor, calm down!" she begged, trying to take his arm.

"Get off!" he screamed, yanking his arm out of her grip and leaping back. "Don't _touch_ me!"

"What the hell is going on!?" came Jack's voice from above.

The Doctor hurled another monitor to the floor, shortly followed by a mainframe computer. "How about _this, _Jack!? Am I _demanding _now!? Am I _fighting yet!?"_

Another piece of irreplaceable technology smashed to the floor in a fountain of sparks, glass and metal as the Doctor continued to move backwards, towards the concrete wall.

"Please stop!" Martha whined as Jackie stood there with no idea what to do. "The old you, he never..."

"But I'm not _him_, am I!?" the Doctor interrupted in a scream.

"You just need time!"

"_Nothing _is coming back, _nothing! _What's the point, Martha!? What's the _point _of _me!?"_

Jackie was suddenly speaking, renewed with some sort of surprise confidence. "Never say that, sweetheart. You're so important to so many people..."

"Not now, right!?" he yelled. _"He's _the important one! You care about _him, _not me! I'm a waste of space and everyone's time because I can't even remember my own _mother, _right!?"

He'd reached the concrete wall now, and started throwing his head against it, _extremely_ hard.

"Stop!" Martha begged, trying to move forward but he kicked out at her every time. Jack began to hurtle down the stairs, desperate to stop this.

"It won't work! It won't come!" the Doctor yelled repeatedly, every syllable punctuated with a crack of his head against the solid concrete wall. "WORK!" he demanded his brain, his head now covered in blood. "Just fucking _work!"_

Jack finally reached him, grabbing him in restraint. The Doctor kicked out desperately to try and get free.

"Martha get something to stop him!" Jack yelled, just before the Doctor slipped out of his arms and threw himself at the wall again. Jack got his arms around the Doctor's arms and chest, wrestling him to the floor and bodily pinning him down.

"Get off!" the Doctor screamed.

"No!" Jack screamed back. "Calm down!"

The Doctor pulled back his legs and kicked Jack in the stomach. As Jack reeled in surprise the Doctor rolled out and scrambled across the room, down a flight of stairs into the bowels of the Hub.

"No, Doctor! Don't go down there!" Jack yelled from somewhere behind him, but he wasn't listening. The Doctor ran through the winding corridors with blood running down his face, through rooms stacked with files, through more and more corridors and finally through a door into a wide, open room.

He stopped dead.

There was that bounty hunter from a few days ago, lying on a table in the centre of the room with a massive hole in his stomach, his insides now his outsides and continuous drip of red blood _still _splattering to the floor even now. The stench was incredible. The bounty hunter's face was staring straight at him, the eyes wide open and unseeing, the jaw agape.

The Doctor suddenly felt very, very weak. Something was coming up from inside him – something up his throat. He had no idea what it was – at least until he retched, opened his mouth and vomited all over the floor. His legs wobbled, his head went light, and then he fainted clean away.


	10. Fish and Chips

Chapter 10 – Fish and Chips

The situation was an absolute mess.

Jack had changed completely. He had ordered Martha to fix the Doctor's head as quickly as she could and then he had locked the Doctor in one of the cells, allowing no access to the area. He had been down there for five hours, now.

Martha knew locking the Doctor up would probably do more harm than good, but any attempt to reason with Jack had been brushed aside. She knew what this was doing to him, seeing the Doctor so unlike the Doctor. It was completely destroying Jack's soul – his sanity... and she understood. Not that it made it right.

"Jack, please let him out."

"No."

"He's not a threat. He just needs some time to piece back together his memory," Martha assured him. "You know that."

"Martha, he can't even write!" Jack pointed out, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"He'll remember."

"It's been five days, Martha! He's not remembering _anything, _he's just repeating what we're telling him as fact!"

"This isn't going to fix itself overnight," she insisted. "This'll take time..."

"Tell me, how can someone normal speak every language in the universe absolutely fluently but can't write a single goddamn letter of the alphabet!?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure there's..."

"A reasonable explanation!?" Jack completed as a partial question, almost laughing in disbelief.

"Yes, I do," she replied calmly.

"He's a lunatic right now! He's putting himself and all of us in danger!"

"That's not fair, you can't blame him for raging like that," Martha insisted. "It's not like we were being helpful or anything this morning."

"Stop defending him! You know as well as I do that we can't go on like this!"

"Are you suggesting we _abandon _him!?" Martha asked incredulously, appalled at Jack's words.

"I'm saying we need to take him to Unit!"

"What!? We can't take him there, not after last time..." Martha gabbled in surprise at his suggestion.

"I'm sorry but we just don't have the time or resources to deal with this totally crazy amnesiac alien! You know I'm right!"

"No, you're not!" Martha screamed back. "He's your best friend and he needs your help!"

"Get the hell out, I can't listen to this," Jack spat, waving a dismissive hand at her.

"You can't ignore this!"

"Right now I am, and I for one fell a lot safer now he's locked up in a cell."

"But..."

"He's a _freak!"_ Jack yelled, slamming his hands on the table and jumping to his feet, gazing at her.

Martha instantly launched out an arm to grab his wrist, gripping it to blood stopping point as every ounce of adrenaline pumped into her body at his harsh words.

"His name is the Doctor and you _bloody _well know that," she grated, her voice now at an angry whisper as she gazed unrelentingly into his eyes. "Think about what you just said."

Jack swallowed, and quickly realised he'd let his mouth run away without his brain maintaining it. "I didn't mean that."

"Good. Because yes, he's an alien but he's also our friend, our _best _friend. He's the one that's helped us without question for all these years and now he actually needs you you're being _incredibly unfair._ If this happened to you he wouldn't give up on you, would he? Really."

Jack paused, swallowing, before finally muttering, "... no."

"Exactly. He likes talking to you, so talk back to him. One day he'll remember something, maybe not something big, but he'll remember _something. _It'll be the breakthrough and then we can get him back. He's my friend too, Rose is my friend, their kids called me Auntie Martha, and the amount of times he's saved our lives... the things he done for us. We owe him this. Don't give up on him, please."

Jack sighed. "You're right. I'm so sorry."

"I understand."

"I just... I just can't take this anymore."

"I know."

"It's... It's almost like he's dead. Every time I look at that guy I just see with every passing day my best friend as more and more dead. It's like I'm grieving for him already."

"I understand, but that needs to change."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be apologising to me, Jack," Martha insisted. "That man sitting down in that cell right now was asking me this morning how to make him like you because you were rude to him. He really likes you, Jack. He's attached to you. And right now you could be his only hope."

Jack didn't meet her eyes. "I've ruined this, haven't I?"

"No. I'm not saying this is all your fault. It's been all of us giving him our expectations of what he should be like and false pretence every time we talk to him. This morning when he couldn't write his name I had to send him out of the room and that wasn't smart, I know. To be honest we're lucky he only did that, he could've done a lot worse. So consider this our wake up call, okay? Second chance, for everyone."

"Okay."

* * *

Everything was absolutely silent when Jack arrived at the cells. Even Janet the Weevil was quiet as he marched past her to the end cell where the Doctor was. Jack found him lying there on the drab bed, staring at the far wall in utter silence. His head was full of stitches from the amount of damage he'd caused himself, his hair still matted with dried blood as he clutched onto something in his hands.

"Doctor?" Jack asked quietly.

"Go away!" the Doctor responded angrily, snapping his eyes shut and curling up tighter.

Jack sighed, took a deep breath and keyed in the code to the door. With a beep, a hiss and a clunk the door swung inwards and he entered the cell. He left the door wide open, moving to the bed. The Doctor kept his eyes firmly shut, so Jack just sat down against the wall next to the head of the bed.

"... Thanks for sorting out my office," Jack eventually said. "I can find things now."

"Go away!" the Doctor repeated, curling up tighter.

Jack looked at him a little more. He was angry. Overly angry. As though he was forcing himself to be. "You're angry, I know. Why are you angry?" Jack wondered.

"Anger is the only way people listen to me!" the Doctor yelled back.

Jack swallowed. "No, it's not. It's really not. I've been a bit of a dick to be fair and you don't deserve it. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to be angry to make people listen to you. I'm listening. What's going through your head?"

"Nothing!"

"What?"

"That's the point, nothing!" the Doctor whined. "I can't remember anything, everyone is telling me what I should do and I tried and it's just not working because of my stupid brain!"

He hit his head against the bed redundantly, his skull just bouncing off harmlessly.

"... Don't do that. Please."

The Doctor suddenly looked at him, watery eyes connecting with Jack's. He finally sat up on the bed, revealing he was still cradling the broken toy.

"I'm sorry," he finally said calmly, staring at the toy.

"I really don't mind you know," Jack assured him seriously. "It's just stuff. It's things. Material stuff that can be replaced." He gazed at the Doctor for a moment. "People can't. I forgot that for a while, I know. I'm sorry."

The Doctor sniffed and looked at him again. "And I'm sorry I got angry."

"Oh, don't be an idiot," Jack chastised. "I've had amnesia before, not this bad but I know what it's like. You're confused and scared, I know. People kept telling me all the things I was supposed to remember and I just got agitated that I couldn't. I got angry with them, and with myself. We're not exactly helping you by telling you what you're supposed to do, either. That's not fair. But we'll sort this. Don't feel bad; this isn't your fault. This is the fault of whatever big and powerful thing that did this to you is."

The Doctor didn't reply.

Jack got up and sat next to him on the bed. "From now on when you talk, we listen. I promise. Okay?"

"Okay," the Doctor muttered. He looked so lost and lonely sitting there.

Jack reached forward to hug him, and the Doctor responded in kind.

"I want to remember. I sound so happy," the Doctor murmured over Jack's shoulder.

Jack drew away, cupping the Doctor's cheek and gazing into his eyes, his voice low and measured. "It'll come when it'll come. In all my wisdom I forgot the most important thing – while you're like this, you're not him. You're your own person. And we need to respect that. This is mad for all of us, but it's far worse for you, I know. So I've got a proposal. Let's be normal."

"What?" the Doctor asked, wiping at his eyes.

Jack broadened a grin. "How about some fish and chips?"

* * *

The smell was what hit the Doctor first; the pure smell of fish and chips wafting out of a tiny shop on the corner near the Hub.

"C'mon," Jack said, taking the Doctor's arm and pulling him into the shop.

There the Doctor was greeted by strange new sights and sounds, the hiss and spit of the deep fryers and the radio pumping out the latest music. There was a woman behind the counter, who looked up on their entry and smiled.

"What'll it be?" she asked in a vibrant Welsh accent.

"I'll have cod and chips, and... Doctor?"

"What?"

Jack laughed at his deer-caught-in-headlights expression. "Food. What d'you want to eat?"

He gestured to the board, and the Doctor stared at it for a long while, frowning.

"What does a... battered sausage taste like?" he asked.

"Nice," Jack responded. "It's a deep-fried sausage."

"What does that taste like?"

"Err... Like a deep-fried sausage...? I can't explain it."

They were interrupted by a very loud, pronounced sigh from behind them. Slightly stunned, Jack turned to find a large, muscled man standing there behind them staring at his watch pointedly.

Jack's eyes narrowed. "We'll be a minute." He turned back to the board. "You usually got the large chicken nuggets and large chips," he told the Doctor.

"What's a nugget?"

"Oi, tell your scrut of a friend to hurry the fuck up," the man snapped.

Jack looked back, beginning to feel a bit irate now. "Hey, he's got severe amnesia. Give us a minute."

The man sighed, and fell silent. Jack was about to turn back before the man suddenly spoke again...

"Pidin tarw."

Jack stopped abruptly in mid-movement. "... What did you just say?" he asked, already knowing perfectly well what he had said but not quite being able to believe that he had.

"Jack!?" the Doctor asked anxiously.

"Stay back, Doctor," Jack warned, holding out an arm.

The man suddenly laughed boisterously. "Oh, he's a doctor! It gets better and better!"

Jack's eyes narrowed. He couldn't stop this now. It had been a very long time since he'd had a public fight, and he had had _many _in his time. It was clearly time for another, to protect the Doctor's dignity.

So he rolled up his sleeves, preparing himself. "Let's take this outside," he grated to the man.

The man just grinned a toothless grin in response. "Go on, then, twll tin!"

"Jack!" the Doctor wailed, but the two were already moving outside and crowds of interested people were beginning to gather. The Doctor followed, but couldn't watch, dropping to sit down on the step and covering his head with his hands.

"Hey butty, you all right?" a voice asked. The Doctor looked up, finding a young beautiful blonde woman looking down at him sympathetically.

"No," the Doctor whined, covering his head again.

Without any invitation, she sat down next to him. "My name's Cerys," she said by way of introduction. "What's yours?"

"... Doctor, I'm the Doctor," he replied, daring to look at her again.

"Doctor? Really?" she asked, a little surprised and amused at the same time. In return he looked a bit stunned at her reaction, and she smiled a reassuring smile, before her eyes flickered up to his head, cut, bruised and stitched up.

"So what's your story?" she asked. "You look like you _need _ a doctor rather than being one."

"My story?" the Doctor queried.

"Your head, what happened to it?" she reiterated. "And the vacant expression?" she added, laughing.

"Oh," the Doctor realised. "My head isn't right."

"What d'you mean, butty?"

"I can't remember things," the Doctor muttered. "I was someone before but I don't remember him."

"Oh, that's so sad," Cerys said quietly, taking his hand. "So you mean you hit your head and don't remember who you are? Like in that film?"

"Jack says someone really bad and powerful did it to me."

Cerys' jaw dropped. "Were you like, a secret agent or something? Like a spy?"

The Doctor frowned. "I don't know."

"I bet you were. You were doing government stuff and the other side got you and had to wipe your memory! I bet that's what happened! I mean, you've got a code name and everything."

She looked exceptionally pleased with her reasoning. Although he didn't really understand what she was talking about, the Doctor quickly began to find himself liking her. She had a peculiar way of closing her eyes tightly every time she laughed.

"So where do you live, Doctor?" she asked, still smiling.

The Doctor frowned. He really had to think about that for a moment. "Over there," he ended up saying, pointing at the Plass. "It's called the Hub."

"Oh!" she realised. "It must be somewhere really technical where they take injured spies, right? I get it."

"Must be," the Doctor supposed, quite calm now.

"Do they let you have visitors?" she wondered after a moment's pause.

"I don't get visitors," the Doctor replied.

"What? Don't you have any family or anything?"

"I have a wife, she's blonde and pretty," the Doctor told her, less as a description of a person and more of a bullet point list of features. "And a daughter. I don't know what she looks like. I think I have another one too 'cause everyone says kids, not kid. I don't remember them. Everyone else thinks they're dead."

"Oh, that's so sad," Cerys repeated, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe... Maybe I can be your visitor?"

He widened a smile back. "That'd be nice."

The distant sounds of police sirens was what quickly caused the crowd to disperse like kids in the playground running from a teacher, and Jack appeared moments later.

"That was fun," Jack's voice enthused suddenly, moving towards them before he realised... "Doctor? Who the hell is this?"

"This is Cerys," the Doctor said quickly, getting up.

"... So I see," Jack muttered.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked anxiously, reaching up to look at his cuts and bruises from the fight.

"Fine," Jack dismissed, batting away his hand and glaring at Cerys. "C'mon, Doctor. Gotta go."

"But..." the Doctor began, looking at Cerys who was sat there looking up at the Doctor dreamily.

"We're going," Jack grated, yanking his arm to pull him across the Plass to the Hub.

"Bye, Doctor!" Cerys yelled, waving.

"Bye!" the Doctor called back as Jack pulled him around the corner, marching him down the slope through the shop, past a confused Ianto and in to the Hub. Jack quickly shut the door and pushed the Doctor back against the wall.

"What were you doing?" Jack asked, harshly.

"Talking..." the Doctor replied, wide-eyed. He couldn't understand why Jack was upset.

"Do you _know _how dangerous it is for you to talk to random people? Did you tell her you're not human!?"

"No..."

"Did you tell her what had happened to you?"

"Yeah..."

"Did you tell her where the Hub is!?"

"I... Umm..."

"Doctor!" Jack urged.

"I pointed..."

"Ugh," Jack grunted, hand on his head. "What does she think you are?"

"She kept calling me a secret agent..."

"Well that's something at least," Jack sighed in relief, gripping the Doctor's good shoulder tightly.

"What's happened?" Martha asked, coming towards them.

"He's out having chats with random women about him and Torchwood!" Jack exclaimed, exasperated.

"Jack," Martha warned in a low tone. "Second chance."

Jack swallowed, nodded, and gathered himself together. "Sorry, Doctor. But you can't do that. After what happened with the Shadow Proclamation, Earth really doesn't like aliens. If anyone found out about Torchwood, us, or that you're not human... MI5 would be down on you like a sack of bricks and next thing you know you'll be chained up in a basement somewhere being experimented on and I don't think I could live with myself."

"I'm sorry."

Jack sighed. "No, not your fault, I should've told you."

"If I don't tell Cerys about that can I still see her?" the Doctor asked quietly.

Jack glanced at Martha, frowning. "Why do you want to see her?"

"Because she was nice."

"Doctor..." Jack muttered, apprehensive. "Do you like, _like _her?"

"What does that mean?"

"I mean... Do you want to _really _get to know her?"

"I guess," the Doctor supposed.

"No."

"What?"

"Doctor, you... you love Rose, all right?"

The Doctor was beginning to get frustrated. "No, I don't."

Jack's jaw dropped. "What? But you do!"

"How can I love someone I've never even met?" the Doctor whined. "You say I love her but I don't even remember what she looks like!"

"I told you, she's..."

"She's pretty and blonde!" the Doctor cried, exasperated. "What colour are her eyes?"

"They're brown!"

"What does she wear?"

"She..."

"Does she have a nice laugh? Does she have any cute habits? What's her personality like? Is she a good mother? And what about Leah? What's her favourite toy? Do I have any other children? What are their names? What do they look like?"

Everything suddenly fell very quiet.

"All right," Jack finally said. "Follow me. I've got something to show you."

* * *

**A/N: **Yay, review reply now! We're picking up speed, though it probably doesn't look like it right now :P


	11. Happy Together

**A/N:** Anyone who gets the references to previous stories gets a fictional cookie.

* * *

Chapter 11 – Happy Together

Jack took him to the meeting room and sat him down at the table whilst he went to retrieve something from his office. He came back a mere two minutes later, a laptop under his arm and a file in his hand.

He took the seat next to the Doctor, and steeled himself with a breath.

"I didn't want to show you this 'cause I wanted you to remember first," Jack began, rooting around in the file. "But here they are." He drew out a photograph, and held it in front of the Doctor. "Martha took this photo a few Christmases ago."

The Doctor stared at the picture. There were three people sitting in a place he didn't recognise, a pretty blonde woman was sitting on the left, he was on the right and a little brown-haired girl was on his lap, beaming away. "... That's me," the Doctor realised, astonished.

"Yeah," Jack said, and pointed at the smiling blonde woman on the left. "That's your wife, Rose, and that's Leah in your lap."

The Doctor took the photo into both hands, staring at their faces intently. He focused every single cell of his brain into trying to recognise their faces – his wife, his daughter – both beautiful and sitting there with him as a happy, loving family...

"When this picture got taken Rose was stressing a bit because she wasn't wearing any make up, and you told her she looked beautiful without it. Leah jumped on your lap, you all said silly sausages and Martha took the picture. Then you looked at it and Leah told you that you looked funny. She was two when this got taken. After this I had to put Leah to bed because you two had eaten too much and couldn't be bothered to get up."

Jack waited, just watching the Doctor stare at the picture. The Doctor didn't say a word, so Jack continued.

"You've also got a son, Alex." He produced another photograph, handing it to the Doctor. It was a picture of him again, lying in a bed asleep with a small brown-haired baby on his chest.

"When Rose is pregnant you feel the contractions in labour. You nearly died trying to get him in the world. You went into a coma from the severe pain you were feeling and your life-signs started dropping, just from the pain of the contractions. Alex's life-signs were falling too so we had to get Rose in for an emergency c-section. You didn't wake up until the next morning. When Martha gave him to you, she said the first thing you said was that he was beautiful and it had been worth every second. Then you didn't let him go for anyone. I took the picture when you fell asleep holding him. You had no idea."

The Doctor remained silent.

"You have a third child, called Kiana. She's not genetically yours or Rose's, you adopted her. You remember the Master, right?"

The Doctor nodded.

"He abandoned her at our doorstep. You tried to reason with him but he wouldn't listen. You took her in and made her part of your family because you were scared he would have neglected her."

The Doctor still didn't make a sound, just staring at the pictures together, holding one on top of the other.

"And there's one more thing," Jack added, turning around his laptop screen to face the Doctor. "Martha and Tom, Tom is Martha's ex-husband, they had their reception in London and we were all invited. I had a video camera with me so I recorded for a bit. You and Rose are in it. Do you want to see it?"

The Doctor looked up from the photos, his eyes wide. "You... you have a video?"

"Just the one. It's in the first couple of months of yours and Rose's relationship. Would you like to see it?"

The Doctor could only stare at Jack for a moment, his jaw agape. This was it.

"... Yeah," he croaked.

Jack just nodded, and hit play.

* * *

It was the middle of the party, Happy Together by The Turtles was pumping out loud and Jack was panning the camera around at the milling people.

"Some covert spying..." Jack's voice came from behind the camera zooming in on Martha and Mickey getting slightly intimate. "Whoa Martha, you're married to Tom now!" he joked, and moved off across the room to pick out the Doctor and Rose.

The Doctor was sat on the side in a chair, Rose tugging his arm to try and pull him up. He was refusing to budge, shaking his head. Jack moved closer, the camera microphone just about able to pick out their voices.

"Come on," Rose was saying, still pulling on his arm.

"No," he answered seriously.

"Just five minutes," Rose begged.

"Five minutes too long."

She sighed. "You're so boring."

"I am not!" the Doctor protested.

"Yeah, you are."

"Because I don't want to dance?"

"Yeah! Come on, this is our song."

"How is this our song?"

"The Kronids."

"Technically not, as this song was playing when the Kronids were..."

"Oh, shut up," she chastised. "I thought you were more fun than this."

"Fine!" the Doctor said, throwing his arms in the air and getting to his feet.

Rose grinned, mission obviously accomplished, her tongue between her teeth. She took his hand, pulling him to the centre of the designated dance-floor. Jack followed with the camera as Rose wrapped her arms around his chest, pulling him close.

"_I can't see me loving nobody but you, for all my life..."_

"Come on, move," she demanded.

"I'm not a dog," the Doctor insisted.

She laughed, linking her fingers in his and holding them up. "You sleep like one."

"What?"

"It's cute. You know like how dogs run in their sleep? That's what you do."

He tried to look insulted but it turned into a laugh very quickly. "Says the snorer."

Rose instantly turned bright red, letting go of him to put hand over her mouth. "I so don't!"

"It's fine; your nose twitches too like a bunny rabbit so it's quite cute," he assured her, grinning.

She shoved him lightly, torn between being insulted and laughing. "You're so mean!"

"What?" he protested. "I said you're cute."

She rolled her eyes, pulling him into an intimate hug. "You're impossible. And you're still not dancin'."

"_Me and you, and you and me... No matter how they tossed the dice, it had to be..."_

"I'm not much of a dancer in this body," the Doctor insisted.

"You've never tried."

"Don't you remember your birthday?" he asked seriously.

"That doesn't count."

"I over-spun, fell over and nearly broke the table."

"That was on the Wii and you had an ear infection so you could barely stand up anyway. It doesn't count."

"I'm not dancing."

She sighed. "Fine," she said, reaching up his neck to bring him down to kiss her, tongues and all. When they needed to take a breath around thirty seconds later they finally drew back, both just absorbed in each other's eyes.

"I love you," he whispered, utterly sincere.

"I love you too. And I _will _get my dance."

"Not likely."

"_Ba-ba-ba bah, ba-ba-ba bah..."_

Finally Rose looked up, realising Jack was standing there with the camera. Instantly she looked aghast. "How long have you been filmin' us?"

"Good few minutes!" Jack replied happily, and stopped recording.

* * *

The video ended, and Jack didn't even need to look at the Doctor. He was crying. Jack almost dreaded what would come next.

"They're so happy," was all he said.

Jack's heart sank. "You don't remember that."

The Doctor just choked another sob. "Not a word."

Jack swallowed, feeling quite numb as leant forward to close the laptop. He then moved back to resume his seat, gazing at the Doctor. Silence reigned for a very long time.

"... I'm really ill, aren't I," the Doctor finally said, not as a question.

Jack sighed. "Yeah."

"I'm not going to get better."

"No."

"... Oh god," the Doctor croaked.

Jack sighed again, reaching out to take his hand. He knew what he had to say next, but he had to take a few deep breaths to manage it. "Maybe... Maybe we should stop, Doctor. Just stop trying to remember. 'Cause... I don't think there's anything in there."

It felt more like he was confirming to taking someone off of life support. The Doctor didn't say a word, just sat there crying.

"Maybe..." Jack began, but now he was forcing the words out – every syllable felt like the whack of a hammer on the head of a nail in his best friend's coffin. "Maybe we should... We should stop calling you Doctor."

The Doctor looked at him, a wounded puppy, a child whose granddad had just died – his eyes wide and wet. "... What's my name?"

"I don't know," Jack said softly, reaching out to rest a hand on the Doctor's arm. "I'll call you Doctor until you find a new one. For yourself."

"Okay," the Doctor croaked, and quickly got up. "I'll... I'll go now."

Jack nodded. "We'll figure something out. I'm not giving up on you. Not this time."

"Okay," was all the Doctor replied, getting up and leaving out of the door about a minute later the Hub door opened and closed, but Jack wasn't paying attention. He was staring at his desk, his hands tangled deep in his hair.

He was trying not to cry. His best friend was dead. There was absolutely no denying it now. The Doctor was not the Doctor. Not anymore. And there was no telling if he'd ever come back.

Then he realised the Hub door had just opened and closed with no intruder alarm. Someone had gone out.

_The Doctor _had gone out.

Jack got up instantly, his chair flying to the floor with a crash, He sprinted to the door, practically flew down the stairs and took the lift, slamming his hand on the contraption repeatedly to try and make it go faster though he knew it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.

It felt like an age until it reached the top, bursting out of the hole-in-the-ground to meet a bitterly cold night with the rain pouring down. He didn't even bother waiting until the lift had met the concrete, jumping the last few feet to the surface.

He looked around desperately, and saw a figure running off across the Plass to a crowd of buildings.

"Doctor!" Jack yelled, and started after him through the puddles of collected water on the ground. The Doctor was incredibly fast and Jack nearly lost him, until he heard the clangs of someone running fast up a stairwell. He followed the noise up some access steps, all the way up what felt like a million flights until he ended up on the roof, completely out of breath.

He saw the Doctor instantly, standing there in the pouring rain in a white shirt and jeans, almost completely soaked. He was facing Jack with one of the guns from the drawer in his hand, the rain running down his face... or was he crying?

"Doctor..." Jack began, his emotions torn between confusion and just plain terror. "Come here."

The Doctor didn't answer him, just raising the gun at Jack.

Jack's breath caught in his throat. He raised his hands defensively. "Doctor, don't. Please. You don't know what that does; the hurt it causes..."

"Guns make people do what you want," the Doctor replied, almost robotically.

"... What do you want?" Jack croaked.

"Stay away. Let me do this."

"Do what?"

In a form of reply, the Doctor took a step back to the edge of the roof.

"No!" Jack yelped, stepping forward. The Doctor reaffirmed the grip on his gun and Jack stopped dead.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said, taking another cautious step back. "But I have to."

"You don't, you don't need to," Jack said desperately. "Why are you doing this?"

"I can regenerate... Which means if I'm sick or injured to the point I can't get better I can regenerate into a new body to fix myself," he uttered, copying Sarah's explanation word for word. "I have to kill myself, Jack. I have to regenerate. Please, please let me regenerate."

"No! You don't know what you're talking about!" Jack cried in desperation. "This won't solve anything!"

"But it'll fix me."

"That's... That's not a guarantee, all right? You've only got thirteen bodies, _please _don't do this!"

"I have to."

"No, you don't!"

"I need to... I need to get better. I need to remember my family. I need to find them. He'd thank me."

"Who!?"

"The Doctor. He'd thank me."

"What!?"

"The Doctor... the one you love," the Doctor clarified, sniffing and wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "The one I'm not. The one on the video, you know? He's got this life, this really happy life, with these people who are kind and considerate. He looks at Rose like she's the answer to everything. All those diary entries, about Leah; those artefacts you and him looked through; all those stories you have and the way you talk about him like he's... Like he's your world. I'm not him. I can never be him. I'm... I'm sick and I'm not going to get better.

"All these people I've met that were part of his life, Rose's Mum, Sarah, Martha, Mickey, Gwen, Ianto, you, _everyone, _you're his friends, you're not mine. You all just look at me and cry. You're all crying because you're remembering him. Everyone remembers him. Everyone except me. I can't exist like this. You want him back, and I want him back. Thank you for trying, Jack."

He dropped the gun, and dropped over the ledge.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I did say whump.


	12. Dear Diary 3

**A/N:** Moffat is always stealing my ideas, I say! :P I've thrown the Doctor off a building three times now since 2007. It's just THIS time he actually hit the floor. With a splat.

* * *

Chapter 12 – Dear Diary 3

******11********th**** May******** 2009 (Earth time) – Leah 7 months old**

_DEar daiREy._

* * *

"DOCTOR!"

The Doctor spun around in alarm, his hearts leaping to his throat as he realised she wasn't holding onto his hand anymore. "Rose! Rose!"

He'd lost her in the crowd of screaming life-forms at the worst possible moment. The Porpinx were highly dangerous, poisonous and right now on the hunt for their dinner. Nobody got in the way of them, unless you had five layers of armour and a particularly large gun. Rose had a hoody and a stick of chewing gum.

Without a second thought he turned against the crowd, pushing through the oncoming tide. It was like trying to push through a brick wall.

"ROSE!" he cried again, trying desperately to scour the crowd for her blonde hair but he couldn't see it anywhere. "ROSE!"

There was a massive roar of the Porpinx heading straight towards him, nearly deafening him. But he carried on, trying desperately to break the tide of terrified people to find Rose. As the crowd of people began to thin out he caught sight of her... lying on the ground right next to the Porpinx.

"No!" he screamed, and without any reasoning in his mind whatsoever he began to run. The bond was screaming and he was terrified, running so fast across the room to Rose...

He dodged the Porpinx and reached her. He threw himself over her to protect her, closed his eyes, and tensed his body to prepare for pain. He wasn't disappointed. The claws raked him through his lower back as easy as tearing paper. He stayed absolutely still, playing dead despite the utter agony now coursing through his back. He had no idea what the damage was, but it felt like the Porpinx had cut right through his spine...

He waited, waited, and waited, keeping his eyes tightly closed. The Porpinx sniffed around for a little bit, walked around him and Rose, and then galloped off after the fleeing crowd for a bigger meal.

The Doctor forced himself to wait a full ten seconds before he let a huge scream of pain rip from his lips. He hardly dared to move but had to, rolling off of Rose onto his side with more cries of anguish.

"Rose," he gasped, already feeling the poison begin to override his system. "Rose!"

She didn't move. She had the familiar claw marks on her upper back, just catching her neck. There was so much _blood._

"Don't die," he pleaded, and steeled himself for what he had to do next. He forced himself upwards, screaming with the fire of poison washing through his blood. He screamed some more, bent down, screamed again, took Rose, and with the loudest scream yet took her into his arms. Then he began to walk. The TARDIS was only twenty metres away, but it felt more like twenty miles with every tiny yet _excruciating_ step.

His sense of time became non-existent as he fought on, step by step towards the TARDIS. She was standing there in the wall indent, tantalisingly close. He could hear her in his head, whining, begging, pushing him forward. With her support and his determination he managed to get to the door, aim his key for the lock and tumble inside.

Rose slipped out of his arms instantly and hit the floor, as did he. His shoulders were beginning to numb and the pain was receding, but that wasn't at all good. Soon his entire body would freeze up, his hearts would be paralysed and he would die. And he was resistant. If he'd fallen this far to the poison in such a short amount of time how long was it until Rose stopped breathing?

The Doctor gasped, using the holes in the grating to drag himself up the ramp towards the console, but halfway there he simply couldn't go any further, every single cell in the body as though dead in his body.

"Leah..." he breathed out desperately, trying to yell her name. "Le-ah..."

He looked at Rose, but she was lying there where he'd dropped her with her eyes closed. Was she even breathing?

"Leah!" he forced out, gasping for air. "LE-AH!"

By some miracle of creation, there came the sound of rapid small footsteps coming towards the console room. Internally the Doctor sighed a big sigh of relief, just waiting. She finally appeared around the corner of the console in her pyjamas, sucking her thumb.

"Leah," he gasped again. "C'mere."

"Dadda?" she asked, her eyes instantly watering.

"Help," was all he managed to get out, even though he knew that wouldn't exactly instil any confidence in the 7-month-old.

"Mamma?" she asked, looking at Rose lying there almost completely lifeless.

"Le... ah, g-" The Doctor stopped abruptly. The mere effort of talking was making his head swim. He was so close to passing out...

"Dadda!" she wailed, toddling towards him to stand next to his head, crying.

The Doctor suddenly couldn't get his mouth to move to tell her what to do, and she clearly didn't know. He could only lie there, hoping and praying that Leah could work out what to do next...

"Dadda," she sobbed, taking his limp arm and trying to pull him across the floor, but he was dead weight to her. She tried several inventive positions to move him, but he still didn't budge. "Dadda!" she cried, trying one last time and toppling over backwards instead.

"_No, Leah, my head, please, my head..." _He tried desperately to tell her on a telepathic level closest to her range, though he was pretty sure she couldn't hear him. "_Touch my head, please, like the game, we play the game..."_

"DADDA!" she screamed this time, really not understanding why her daddy couldn't talk to her or move at all, and why her mummy looked so deeply asleep. "DADDA, MAMMA!"

She was crying so hard, big tears down a tiny, beautiful face. It nearly tore the Doctor's hearts into pairs to see her so distraught.

"_LEAH! TOUCH MY HEAD!" _He _screamed _inside his mind, his eyes fixed on hers. "_Daddy's head game, remember!? PLAY THE HEAD GAME!"_

He didn't know if he'd got through, if she worked it out, or if she was just trying to touch him – but she knelt down beside him, and put her hand to his temple.

"_Leah!" _he cried to her telepathically, utter relief coursing through him. _"The console, get the phone, call Uncle Jack! Remember how I showed you!"_

"'K...'kay," she sobbed out, got up and ran to the console. Everything was starting to darken in the Doctor's eyesight, and he knew he was passing out. He couldn't. He couldn't pass out. So he fought the blackness, tried desperately to stay conscious...

"Unka Jah!" he heard Leah cry down the phone. "Unka Jah! Come peas come now! Dadda mumma halp!"

He couldn't fight it. His eyes slipped closed, and he passed out.

* * *

When the Doctor woke up, panic instantly hit him. He wrenched open his eyes, but the world was too bright and blurry and his head was aching and spinning so much he had to shut them again immediately. His mouth was so incredibly dry and his muscles felt like dead weight on his bones. He was unbelievably cold, he could barely breathe and the moment he thought he might throw up, something tried to force its way up his throat. He managed to suppress it.

"Rose?" he whined out, feeling the bond screaming inside him.

"Doc." It was Jack. "Can you open your eyes?"

"Can't," the Doctor croaked. "Head."

"Okay," Jack replied. "Do you know who I am?"

"Jack," he muttered, and a flutter of panic run through him again. "Rose... s'Leah...?"

The moment he uttered the names the fluttering panic turned abruptly into a crescendo. He wanted so badly to get up and find them but none of his limbs would work.

"Doc, relax, Leah's fine," Jack said quickly. "Rose is in a bad place but she's fighting."

"I needa geddup, s-see 'em..." the Doctor forced his eyes open, blinking rapidly.

"No, Doc. Trust me. We're looking after things. You need to lie down and relax."

The Doctor continued to blink, desperately trying to get the world in focus. He could see a blurry figure that had to be Jack beside him, and as he forced his aching head to turn, the world was trailing about two seconds behind everything else.

"Doc, please, stop," Jack said desperately. "This is serious."

The Doctor ignored him, blinking some more. There was something going into his arm – a wire of some kind. He followed the wire-thing up and found it attached to some sort of red square thing.

"What..." he whined, desperately trying to work it out through his spinning head.

"You told us earlier, you probably don't remember you were so out of it. We've drained out all your blood and we're using your blood bags to put clean blood back in you again. You're running on less than a pint of blood, _please _stop moving, you should be dead."

"Carn..." the Doctor gasped. "I cun 'elp..."

"No, you can't, just lie down and relax," Jack practically begged.

"B... B... Buh," he gasped, but he didn't manage to finish the sentence before he passed out again.

* * *

When he woke up next, things had become a tiny bit clearer. He opened up his eyes, blinking through the whiteness until he partially focused on the room he was in – the TARDIS Infirmary.

His limbs seemed to be working again to at least half-capacity, so after some awkward fumbling and slipping he managed to sit up, and look around.

It was dark. He was attached to several thousand machines and a blood bag, and in the bed next to him...

"Rose," he muttered and tried to get up, but the side-rails were raised and he couldn't find the strength to climb over them or lower them. "Rose!" he called louder, and within moments Martha entered the room.

"Doctor!" she said quickly, running to him. "Don't move."

"Rose..." he whined, pointing.

"She's okay, I promise, just please don't move yet," she begged him, resting her hands on his shoulders to guide him down. After a moment he relented to let himself lie down on the bed, and went to trying to lick around the inside of his mouth get it hydrated.

"Doctor, do you know my name?" Martha asked gently.

"Martha," he murmured, surprised to find his words were a bit more comprehensible now.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Tardis."

"Can you remember what happened to you and Rose?"

"Porpinx. Where s'Leah?"

"Jack's looking after her, so don't worry. We need to focus on you and Rose. How are you feeling?"

"Cold," he muttered. "Thirsty."

"Okay, I can help you with that," she said, running off to retrieve a plastic cup of water and a blanket. He drank the entire cup of water in three gulps.

"Martha," he breathed.

"Yeah?"

"Coma."

"Healing coma?"

"Need... blood," he moaned softly. "Eight hours."

"Okay. I'll see you in eight hours."

* * *

Waking up from a healing coma was always a strange experience. First there was feeling of breathing; the feeling of his chest rise and falling smoothly, calmly and rhythmically. Then his brain would start processing again, slowly at first, until the processes sped up like hitting down on the accelerator in a car. Then, with a jerk, he'd open his eyes and be instantly starving hungry.

On this occasion it was particularly abrupt. He snapped open his eyes, sat straight up and panted for air. He swallowed, to moisten his dry mouth again, and looked immediately to Rose.

She still wasn't moving.

He felt fine now, so he took out all his IVs and disconnected himself from the machines, pushing down the side-rails and slipping off of the bed. He only had a pair of trousers on, so he grabbed a dressing gown from one of the hooks and put it on before moving to Rose's bedside.

"Rose?" he asked, turning her head towards him. She was incredibly pale and completely unresponsive to his voice. "C'mon," he urged, and pressed his fingers to her temple. _"Please wake up."_

"Doctor?" Jack was back, this time with Martha. The Doctor looked up immediately.

"What's her condition?" he asked.

Martha didn't reply immediately, walking towards him to stand beside him. "Critical. I've put her in an induced coma so she doesn't wake up and force her heart to do too much beating."

The Doctor dropped down into the chair next to the bed, running a hand down his face. "Have you used the blood conditioner?"

Martha nodded. "It's doing its work. But she's only human, Doctor. This is going to be a battle."

"She's not going to die," the Doctor said instantly.

"I didn't say that," Martha replied sincerely. "It's just lucky we got to you in time. A few minutes more and you'd have both been dead."

"How long has it been?" the Doctor asked anxiously.

"Just a day for you," Jack explained. "Leah called me in tears. I had no idea how to get to you so I called Sarah Jane. Mr Smith used that tow rope you made to pull the Tardis back to Earth. We found you both practically dead in the doorway and Leah screaming at you."

The Doctor swallowed, his eyes flickering to Rose in the bed before going back to Jack. "How's Leah?"

"I've kept her out of here, she doesn't understand. I managed to downplay you collapsing and she thinks you're just having a long sleep. Go and see her," Jack said, and held out his hand to pull the Doctor upright. "We'll look after Rose. Wait for the morning."

The Doctor was pulled upright, but quickly darted for Rose to give her a kiss.

"I love you," he whispered, and then let himself be led out of the door.

* * *

Leah was sitting on the Doctor and Rose's bed in her pyjamas, deeply engrossed in a colouring book when the Doctor entered. She looked up immediately with a beaming face and giggled in joy, crawling towards him across the bed-covers for a big hug.

"Dadda!" she exclaimed, delighted as he lifted her into the air.

"Leah!" he exclaimed, just as delighted.

"Dadda fik now?"

"Yep!" he replied, grinning. "I'm fixed and perfect. I'm always perfect. You know that!"

She giggled again, and it warmed his insides like hot soup on a cold day. "Silly billy," she told him.

"I'm insulted!" he exclaimed with mock affront, laughing. "Ah, I love you. You did so well. I'm so proud of you."

"Fanks," she said sincerely.

"You're welcome." He grinned back.

"Mumma?" Leah asked, looking around.

He tried to keep his face smiling as he set her back down on the covers. "She's gone to sleep for a while. She's really tired, okay?"

"Sees a cold."

"What?"

"See gosa cold?"

The Doctor realised immediately that Rose having a cold was Jack's entire explanation to Leah for what had happened. "Oh, yes. She has a cold. Like you a month ago with all your big Rudolph red nose and buckets of snot coming out."

"Gross!" she laughed.

"Honestly, I thought the Tardis was going to get flooded with your snot so much I imagined waking up and wading through it to go to the toilet."

She giggled again. "Bebyes now," she informed him.

"Good idea," he replied, moving around to get into bed, pulling Leah in next to him.

"Ahh," she suddenly said, sitting up again and searching beneath her to pull out a diary. "What?" she wondered.

"Oh," the Doctor realised, his hearts freezing simultaneously. "Mummy's diary."

"Wazzat?"

"It's a book you write in every night to record your day, so when you're older you can look back at it and remember what you did." He took the diary, flipping to the current date where the page was blank. "I know," he said, pulling out the pen. "Let's write in it for Mummy so she doesn't miss a day."

"Okay," Leah replied, taking the pen. He rested his hand around her's to subtly guide her writing as they lowered pen to paper.

* * *

_MuMa sik wiva KOld. She goin sleap fOr abit._

_LeAh and DaDDa x_


	13. Whatever Happened to Mr Toad?

**A/N:** Oh my god! Plot building! Only took 13 bloomin' chapters. Come on, already! :P

Nope, nothing to do with a chameleon arch or a fob-watch. You can guess all you like. You'll never get it. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... *cough* ah.

* * *

Chapter 13 – Whatever Happened to Mr Toad?

The Doctor was _somehow_ still alive.

He was lying on the bed having a small seizure with blood coming out of his ears and cerebrospinal fluid gushing out of his nose that Gwen was repeatedly wiping away so he wouldn't choke on it. His right arm and his right leg were fractured, probably his ribs too, his shoulder was dislocated, his neck was in a brace with a suspected fracture with possibly even a fracture to his spine, and his head was _covered_ in blood.

Jack couldn't speak, and to be frank he felt like throwing up. He'd done this. He'd let this happen. This was _his fault._

"Get out of the way!" Martha yelled, pushing him aside as she ran around the bed. "Clear out!"

Jack didn't move, not listening to anything but the Doctor's gargled breathing. He wanted to just die where he stood. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. But his messed up head couldn't decide which one was the better option.

It wasn't until Ianto took his arm, pulling him away from Martha's territory did he wake up slightly, and realise he'd been standing there for a solid ten minutes in complete silence.

"Jack," Ianto said softly, hugging and kissing him. "Calm down."

"I can't... I don't know what to do," Jack whined, completely vulnerable.

"He's the Doctor, he'll be okay," Ianto assured him.

Jack just nodded, trying desperately not to cry. The Doctor had been hurt many times before – everything in the past five years that had made him bedridden and reduced him to rubble – but this time it was different. A very vulnerable, very naïve and childlike-man who was struggling to process a world unfamiliar to him had found his only reasoning in jumping off of a building in an attempt to kill himself and regenerate. And Jack had failed to stop him.

"Jackie's here," Ianto suddenly said.

The words hit Jack like bullets. He couldn't face Jackie. Not now. Not like this. But Ianto pulled him along, to the Hub door where Jackie was waiting with a very tired-looking Tony.

"What the 'ell's goin' on!?" she demanded to know.

Jack felt strangely distant when he replied, as though someone else was talking entirely. "He jumped... He jumped off a... He just jumped."

"What? He jumped off of a what!?"

"A building..."

Jackie's eyes widened instantly, shocked and furious at the same time. "How high!?"

"Thirty, forty feet..."

"How could you let him do that!?" she screamed in his face.

Jack swallowed. "I don't..."

"Why did he do it!?"

Jack's voice was breaking, his eyes watering. "We were... I..."

"I thought 'e was your friend! I thought you were lookin' after 'im!"

"I know, I..."

"You just let 'im jump off a roof!? What kind of friend _are_ you!?"

Jack was both angry and incredibly upset, nearing his bursting point now. "A seriously bad one, all right!?"

"I'll say you are!" she screamed in return. "You should have seen the warnin' signs! This is all your fault!"

"I _know _this is my fault!" Jack yelled back. "You don't need to keep telling me cos I _know, _all right!? I _know!"_

Jackie stopped talking, too angry to continue. At least until she swallowed, gathering herself together, and asked her next question. "Is he dead?"

"Not yet," Jack replied quietly.

"I wanna see 'im."

"You can't go in there, Martha's busy," Ianto said quickly.

"He's my son-in-law!" Jackie shrieked, firing up again within a nanosecond. "He's my grand-children's father, he's part of my family whether he remembers it or not! It's my right to see 'im!"

"Please, Jackie," Jack whined. "Wait."

"No!" she barged straight past him, leaving Tony at the door and striding across the Hub to the med-bay. She entered it just in time to find her son-in-law unconsciously vomiting and nearly choking on it.

"Oh god!" she exclaimed, shocked at the sight of him lying there so utterly mangled. "Oh god!" she managed again, and instantly began to hyperventilate.

"Jackie, get out!" Martha yelled, trying to clear the vomit away from his mouth.

"Jackie!" Jack urged from behind her, taking her carefully and pulling her back out. "Stay away."

"Oh god," she whined, and began to cry. "Oh god, Jack!"

He couldn't help it then. He drew her into a hug, and began to cry too. And he didn't want to stop.

* * *

Martha had found a drug she could safely give him to put him in a coma, and so far he'd been asleep for two weeks as his broken body started to heal. She did scans every day to see how he was doing – something that had become a daily event at 10am for everyone to attend. However, the dirty fact remained that however quickly his body healed there was still a giant, unspoken question mark hovering over him about the fractured state of his soul.

It was a Monday, and Jackie was in to see him again. She'd been into Torchwood every day to sit by his side, holding his hand. Everyone had; it had almost become an unspoken rota. When somebody left, someone would arrive, so he wasn't left alone for more than ten minutes.

All of the anger, all of the shock and the blame had melted away now into just pure _guilt,_ and everyone felt responsible for having some part in it. A Gallifreyan, one of the most scarce yet important creatures ever to wander the universe; an alien who was their best friend, with children who openly called them all uncles and aunts. He was Torchwood's best comrade and ally and he was currently lying in a bed in an underground secret base in a coma because they couldn't look after him when he was down.

Jackie blamed herself for shouting at him that morning and starting the chain reaction of horrific events. Martha blamed herself for letting things get to that extreme when Jack had clearly needed respite. Just about everyone else blamed themselves for getting lost to go home when the hours had ended, and Jack blamed himself the most. He'd adopted the cloak of blame willingly for not reading the signs and just letting him walk out of the Hub and jump. Jackie had been right. What kind of friend was he?

However much guilt any of them felt for whatever reasons they could conjure up still didn't change the fact that the Doctor had come extremely close to dying. He had been so close to death so many times before but this time it was _incredibly_ personal for every single one of them. Under their responsibility this had happened, and now they all needed to repent.

Jackie chose to do it by reading from books to him. When Jack and Martha walked in that morning she was holding his hand, reading from Tony's Wind in the Willows book. Martha moved to do her duties and for a while Jack just stared at him lying there. The damage had lightened slightly, but the black eyes signifying his head injury and the purple bruises and deep lacerations down the right side of his face where he'd met the ground were still there for the world to see. His right arm and leg were in casts, bandages were wrapped around his head and his neck was in a brace. He didn't have a shirt on so the coating of bruises on his fractured ribs were obvious too. The only solace, and partial miracle, was that he hadn't done anything to his spinal cord. Jack found it so incredibly sickening how the only good thing he could come up with in this whole mess was that he hadn't told the Doctor that it took more than thirty feet to kill a Gallifreyan, otherwise he might've found a higher building to jump off of.

Jackie broke off mid-read, looking up at Martha. "Are we wakin' 'im up?"

"Yes," Martha informed her. "It shouldn't take him long to come out."

Jackie nodded. "Will he be groggy and that?"

"We've done this before, he's usually pretty sharp when he comes around for the first time," Martha replied. "Unless he's got some brain damage. It's probably best if everyone stays back."

Jackie nodded, obeying immediately and moving back to stand next to Jack as Martha did her work. It was a matter of a minute until the Doctor opened his eyes, ever so slightly.

"Hi, Doctor," Martha said softly, resting a hand carefully on his face. "You've been in an accident. Can you remember my name?"

"Martha," he croaked, and instantly whined as he realised his predicament, trying to get up.

Martha kept him down. "Stay still. You've done a lot of damage to yourself. You've got some casts on and some tubes going in and out that are helping. I need to check whether you've got any brain damage. Do you know where you are?"

"T-Torchwood..."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She held up five fingers so he could see them.

"Five."

"What was the first question I asked you?"

"You... You asked me w-what your... your n-name was."

"And how many fingers did I hold up?"

"Five..."

Martha looked back at Jack and Jackie, who were looking incredibly relieved. At least his short-term memory was still intact. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah... Jumped," he answered, struggling to form words correctly. "Did I do it?"

"Do what?"

"Regen... regene... r-rate?"

"No. We saved you in time."

"... Why did you s-save me?" he whined.

It was a sentence that simultaneously killed everyone's hearts in their chests.

"Because regeneration isn't the solution," Martha told him firmly.

"But... But I'll fix," he replied, tears creeping into the edges of his eyes. "I don't under...understand. Please let me f-fix."

"It's not the answer."

"Why won't you let me die?" the Doctor croaked, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Stop saying that," Jack moaned quietly, head in his hands.

Jackie glanced at Jack, then Martha. "Can I talk to 'im alone a second?"

They both looked a little surprised, but nodded and left the room. Jackie moved forward to the Doctor, leaning over to meet his eyes.

"Sweetheart, listen to me. You don't want to regenerate."

"Why n-not?"

"You used to have big ears and this northern accent. You travelled the universe with Rose for so long, until one day it went wrong. You were 'urt and you regenerated. When you regenerate you turn into a new person. Your face changed and your body changed into what you are now, and you went mad and crashed your ship right outside my flat, almost killin' the both of you. You garbled somethin' out, you were crazy, and then you collapsed, went into a coma and bloody well nearly died again. Rose is strong but she cried, Doctor. She cried a lot. Cried for you, because she didn't know who the mad guy was that 'ad replaced the one she knew.

"You saved Earth of course cos that's what you do, and that night after dinner we all 'ad a talk. She accepted you again with a different face, but she was a bit scared too. She asked you loads of questions to check it was really you. You promised 'er that you'd try your best never to change your face with 'er again. She went to bed, and I asked you how you'd died. You told me it was to save Rose's life. You'd died for 'er, Doctor, and it wasn't just some kinda collateral damage cos you have a limit of how many times you can regenerate. You told me when it 'appens it's the worst pain you could ever imagine. And you didn't think twice about savin' my Rose and goin' through that. You promised me that you'd try your best to make sure it never 'appened again too. You asked me not to tell Rose what you'd done for 'er cos she didn't remember what 'ad 'appened. I swore I wouldn't. I dunno if you ever told 'er, but I don't think you ever did. You never told her you gave your life for 'er.

"I don't know everythin' about your regeneratin' thing but from what I know there's no way it'll fix you. It'll make you worse. Rose told me for months after you were sufferin' for it. She said you'd explained it to her, it's killin' every cell in your body and making new ones. You have to be mentally prepared for it or somethin'. It needs trainin' and practise in a controlled settin'. She said that you said it was like bein' a talented violin player. You have that ability to do it but without practise it won't work, unless you're really lucky, 'cos you're not very good at it compared to other Time Lords. So if you try and kill yourself, I think right now you'll stay dead, Doctor. And I can't let that happen. You've got a family to look after. I'm not lettin' my grandkids grow up without a dad, and I'm not lettin' Rose bring 'em up without you. Cos I've been through that and it's 'ard enough with one kid, never mind three. Please don't think it's the solution, cos it's really not. You're worth so much to everyone and there's too much to lose by losin' you."

The Doctor stared at her, tears still rolling down his cheeks. She just smiled at him, wiping them away with her thumb.

"Think about it, love," she said. "God knows I'd never say this to the old you but I really care about you and I can't bear to watch you like this. I can't exactly stop you chuckin' yourself off a buildin' again but I'm beggin' you. Please don't give up. You've got too much to just throwaway. I do love you, you know. I know I don't show it but I think you need to 'ear it right now. Okay?"

"Okay," he croaked.

"Thank you," she replied, kissing his bandaged forehead. "Do you want anythin'?"

"Yeah," he muttered, closing his bruised eyes. "I wanna... I wanna know wh-what... what happens to Mr T-toad?"

Jackie suddenly burst out laughing, quite a surprise to both her and the Doctor. "Okay, sweetheart," she said, and opened the book again. "Now where was I?"

* * *

50,341 light-years away on the planet Haxun One, the Penthouse Bar was incredibly rowdy.

It was the eve of the Festival of Stars and the night life was booming on the tiny inner world. Hundreds of drunk lifeforms were crowding the light-bar screaming their orders and hundreds more were out on the dance-floor strutting their stuff to the latest novelty song release from DJ Klixon.

Tchan was getting sick of this shift. He _really_ wasn't paid enough for it – the stress, the crowds and the various levels of species hygiene were beginning to drive him crazy. Night after night he had to stand in the tide of inebriated aliens, trying to be polite and serve hyper-drinks but only receiving pure abuse in return.

He'd had enough. He whipped off his cap and hid it under the bar, deciding just for a while he was going to take an unscheduled break. He ducked out of the bar area and through a side-exit to the outside.

Mondays were scheduled for artificial cold nights, and compared to the inside there were very few people out here. A crowd of lively Shamboni were by a tube light chatting loudly about who had a crush on who and other incredibly dull things, and there was a lone, cloaked figure sitting at one of the tables in silence, a hand on a glass of water.

Thinking nothing of it, he drew out his vone and checked his umails. Nothing. No, wait... one, from his friend on Zazurox.

**PLEASE REPLY! **was the subject line. He frowned, and opened the umail to reveal a portion of text from the Universal News Network.

**Two hours ago another death rocked the Shadow Proclamation as the fifth, sixth and seventh members of the 12-strong hierarchy were killed in an explosion. The Shadow Proclamation have broken their silence and issued a universal mauve alert; an alert only previously used two times before for the Time War and the legendary universal serial killer L-cki'na Kiz-la-ta. The Shadow Proclamation are not detailing the exact nature of the mauve alert, but are warning the universe to be on high alert. Residents of Haxun Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven and Twelve are being ordered under a curfew and Haxun One is being evacuated.**

Tchan blinked in complete surprise, unable to believe what he had just read. Almost immediately the lone figure sitting at the table rose from their seat and jumped over the rail in a flash of black cloak onto the next building.

"What!?" Tchan gasped, launching forward immediately and nearly dropping his vone in shock as the figure ran across the buildings as easily as skipping large rocks.

Suddenly that wasn't even a problem any more. There was a massive ship coming down from the sky – Tchan recognised it as a Judoon ship. Presumably here for the evacuation... right?

Wrong. As he stood there staring at the sight, the Judoon ship landed right in the middle of Xan Square, breaking the fountain into pieces. Then Judoon began to march out of their ship in all directions, guns in hand.

And then the screaming started.

"Shintaka'e!" Tchan swore in absolute horror. He couldn't see much, but he could see enough to tell that this wasn't an evacuation. Not even close. This was a _mass execution._

Instantly Tchan could barely breathe. Sweaty suckers on his hand tried desperately to grip his vone, but he was only halfway through typing the umail when the Judoon began to near the bar. He shrieked in alarm and immediately dropped the vone, backing away in terror from the advancing Judoon and reaching the rail behind him. He looked back at the thirty feet of sheer nothing separating him and ground, and then back at the Judoon as they reached the crowd of Shamboni...

"Charge; undisclosed. Plea; guilty. Sentence; execution."

All five Shamboni were simultaneously executed on the spot before they could have even realised what was happening.

Then the Judoon turned to Tchan.

"Kashi!" he screamed as they got nearer and nearer, their guns raised...

There was only one thing to do.

He jumped over the rails, and dived desperately for the next building. He just about managed it through sheer force of will for survival, gripping the edge with his sucker-fingers and hauling himself up onto the roof. The figure was rapidly becoming a spot in the distance.

"Wait!" he called desperately, stumbling after them. He had no idea why he was following them but to be honest all good ideas had flown out of the window in his state of complete and utter confusion and terror. "Help me, please!"

The figure suddenly stopped, and turned back towards him. Utter relief flooded him as he made to jump to the next building towards the figure... but the Judoon were an incredibly good shot. A searing pain shot through his back and the next thing he knew he was on his front, choking and gasping. Shouldn't he be dead?

No. The figure was already standing above him, holding something up to shield him. Then they tapped something on their wrist, grabbed his arm, and Tchan blacked out.

* * *

**A/N: **Review reply? Is it time for me to rant at you all again? :o Thank you for all the reading and reviewing so far. I know I say this like, every time ever, but I'm always sincere. I give free fictional muffins to you all. Now I don't give them away easy. :D


	14. The Return of Cujo

**A/N:** Aww, little Cujo. Whoever remembers Cujo, you have an excellent memory. Or good guessing skills. Or psychic power. One of those things, I'm sure.

* * *

Chapter 14 – The Return of Cujo

A month after the fall, and the Doctor was still in the med-bay.

It was 2am, and once again Jack was sitting vigilant by the Doctor's bedside to wake him up before he went into one of his nightmares. He'd done this every night for two weeks whilst the Doctor was bedridden, and not once had the thought of complaining ever crossed his mind. He owed it to the Doctor. Sacrificing a few hour's sleep each night was of no consequence to Jack anymore if it meant the Doctor would be okay.

He was starting to doze slightly, so keeping his hand in the Doctor's he let it take him – until his manipulator started bleeping, waking him up abruptly. That was the silent intruder alarm.

He let go of the Doctor's hand to check his gun was loaded, getting up out of his seat and moving quietly up the stairs. He pressed himself back against the wall, peering cautiously around the corner.

Something black flashed near the Hub door. It could only be another bounty hunter. Jack took a cautious step forward, checking in absolutely every direction. He was the only one here. If the bounty hunter got him then the Doctor would be completely vulnerable.

He caught something dark in his vision, and using the steps for cover Jack silently watched as the black figure came into his direct line of sight, unaware of Jack's presence. The figure was checking something on its wrist, and kept glancing in the direction of the med-bay...

"_Please don't scream, Doctor..." _Jack pleaded in his head, shuffling slightly to get a better vantage position.

His shuffle turned out to be much louder than he thought. The grating under his feet groaned suddenly under his weight, and bounty hunter looked straight up at him.

Then all hell broke loose.

A voice suddenly screamed, and Jack turned in alarm to find the Doctor was standing up, leaning precariously on the med-bay railings holding his side and staring straight at Jack with wide eyes.

"Run, Doctor!" Jack yelled back, and took a shot at the bounty hunter. It was only meant to serve as a distraction and it _did_ work long enough for the Doctor to get up the steps, but the distraction quite horrendously backfired when the bounty hunter took the distraction for himself and shot Jack right through the head.

* * *

"No!" the Doctor screamed as Jack hit the floor, and instantly the bounty hunter turned on him; barely metres away. The Doctor began to limp desperately away, but he was severely impaired by his injuries and the bounty hunter simply strolled after him, even taking the time to leisurely look through his weapons to find the most appropriate one to kill him – eventually settling on a shotgun.

The Doctor just ran. Every part of him was in pain but he tried desperately to ignore it, hurling himself down the steps so fast he tumbled over and ended up sprawled out on the floor, screaming in agony. He looked over his shoulder, panting with fear and pain, but the hunter was still there standing at the top of the steps, just staring down at him with a cool, measured gaze.

The Doctor scrambled to his feet again and limped urgently to the left into a corridor. He went left again into the cells, his leg screaming in so much pain he had to resort to hopping down the aisle... until he reached that creature locked in the cells again.

He stopped and hopped forward to the controls of the door, hammering in Jack's most likely combination. The door opened on the first try and he started hopping again as the creature came out of the cell, looking around with interest. The door burst open and the Doctor looked back just in time to see the bounty hunter enter and meet the creature head on. He watched as the bounty hunter faltered, yelping in alarm as the creature dived straight for the throat. The hunter managed a shot that caught the creature with pure luck more than anything, and it flopped to the floor redundantly.

The bounty hunter looked up, straight at the Doctor still standing, paralysed down the end of the aisle. The gun raised.

The Doctor turned and fled again, taking a right and running forward into a room he'd never been before. It was stacked high with redundant equipment and machinery on parcel shelves, files strewn across the floor that he nearly slipped up on in his haste. He grabbed every parcel shelf and threw it back to try to hinder his pursuer in utter desperation as he continued through the maze, through, around and up and down, until he reached...

A dead end.

He turned slowly, gasping for air as the hunter reached him, blocking any way out. The hunter already knew it'd won, even taking the time to check its wrist strap for a few seconds before it raised the gun to the Doctor.

"Please don't," the Doctor whined, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

The hunter suddenly spoke, a strange deep voice that someone commanded completely authority. "I would like to know where Echo is, please."

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I would like it if you didn't waste my time, I'm on a schedule," the hunter continued calmly. "If you know nothing then I will have to kill you. For which I apologise, but I'm afraid it is company policy."

"Please don't! I just know that when I had my memory I got a note that said the reign of Echo would begin and then I lost my memory of who I am and I don't know what that means!" the Doctor begged, all in one sentence in a single breath.

"Hmm," the bounty hunter said, frowning for a moment. "You don't know who you are?"

"No!"

"Interesting," the bounty hunter muttered, and gazed straight into the Doctor's eyes. "You do not know of the Proclamation massacre twelve years ago, then? I must say, I was quite surprised to see you still alive."

The Doctor stayed completely still and silent, sheer force of will somehow keeping his eyes open.

"You must be feeling confused," the bounty hunter continued. "I do apologise. I'm just doing my job. You understand, don't you?"

The Doctor drew a breath through his terror and the pain in his battered body, still staring at the gun raised to him. He tried to speak but couldn't even manage a syllable as the bounty hunter steadied his aim.

"Do not worry. This will be an honourable death, Doctor."

His finger moved towards the trigger.

* * *

Jack came back to life, to meet with the sight of Ianto holding Cujo on a leash, who was licking Jack's face like an eager child with an ice cream. Almost immediately the memories hit him and he sat up bolt upright, eyes wide.

"Yan? What the hell are you doing here!?" he gasped, scrambling to his feet using Ianto as leverage.

"The silent alarm went off, I thought you might need some help," Ianto replied simply. "But you need to move."

"What?"

In reply Ianto pointed at the floor, and Jack followed his indication to see a pattern of blood forming a path from the empty med-bay and through his Jack's office towards the cells. Still slightly dazed Jack whipped out his gun and followed the trail, utterly terrified of what he'd find at the end.

* * *

Just as the hunter went to fire, there was a massive crashing sound from the entrance and they both looked up to realise the creature had returned. The hunter yelped in alarm again and tried to aim, but the creature had already launched on the hunter from behind to go for the throat. The hunter was overwhelmed, and the creature promptly began to tear the body apart in a cacophony of screams.

The Doctor couldn't take it. As the bounty hunter's insides became outsides, as blood flew everywhere and as he stood transfixed at the sight before him, he couldn't keep his breath under control. He began to hyperventilate, falling back against the wall as he progressively became more and more covered in the blood spraying everywhere.

The creature finished what it was doing very quickly, the bounty hunter now well and truly dead and in several places on the floor. It turned towards the Doctor, baring its blood covered fangs.

The Doctor's emotions went into overload. He tried desperately to get air through the incredible shock, overwhelming fear and excruciating pain, but he couldn't manage it. As less and less air got into his lungs he became more and more dizzy, things getting more and more blurry as the creature moved directly towards him.

* * *

Jack had heard the harrowing screams, and he had soon worked out why when he'd run through the cells and found Janet was out. This made him run even faster; utterly petrified that the Doctor was in grave danger. He followed the trail of blood from the wounded Doctor through a maze of corridors before finally reaching the archive room, and finding a complete mess.

Blood, files and pieces of equipment were everywhere. Body parts of the hunter were strewn out across the room and the obvious cause of it all was standing in front of the Doctor. He was hyperventilating and shrunk back into the corner, on the edge of passing out.

"Janet!" Jack warned, raising his gun to the weevil. The weevil immediately turned at the noise, blood caked down her front. Jack could see she was injured. "Janet, get away from him!"

She didn't move, just looking at him and twisting her head slowly to and fro. Jack boldly took a step forward, and she gave a warning growl that would've chilled even a block of ice. Jack couldn't quite believe it as he began to work the situation out. Janet wasn't attacking the Doctor. She had all the opportunity in the world to. So why wasn't she doing it?

"Janet, I need to help him, he's bleeding," Jack murmured quietly, stepping ever so slowly towards the Doctor. "Let me get to him."

There was a small 'pft' and Jack looked over to see Ianto standing there with a tranquilliser gun pointed straight at Janet. Seconds later she hit the floor, fast asleep.

Jack immediately put away his gun and turned his full attentions to the Doctor, running over to grab his shoulders and straighten him up. "Doctor, Doctor, talk to me."

"Jack," the Doctor breathed, unfocused eyes panning over him. "But you... you died... he... he shot you in the head..."

"Concrete, remember?" Jack grinned, knocking his head with his fist. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," the Doctor replied, clearly not.

"No, you're not," Jack told him firmly. "Let's get out of here and have a clean-up. Yan, get Janet secured and call Martha."

* * *

"You're certain that's what he said?"

"Yeah," the Doctor replied, lying on his back on the bed, well aware of everyone staring at him in stunned silence. "And he said he was surprised to see me alive."

"I wonder what happened twelve years ago... This massacre I mean?" Martha mused as she restitched his reopened wound.

"No idea," Jack muttered. "But sounds like you only just about got out, Doctor. Maybe this memory thing is a good thing. Maybe you were just lucky to get out."

"Maybe," the Doctor muttered. He'd calmed down in a very short amount of time after Martha had given him some painkillers; his chaotic head dulled a little by the drugs. "Can you teach me something?" he suddenly asked, looking up at Jack.

Jack looked at him. "What?"

"I want to know how to fight."

Jack frowned. "What?"

"I... I was looking at that bounty hunter when he was shooting you thinking... I could do something. But I couldn't. I... I didn't know what to do. I need to know how to fight. For the future."

"What's the future?"

In reply the Doctor drew out the photos he'd kept with him from under the pillow – the ones Jack had given him of his family. "I need to find them."

"Really?" Jack asked softly, staring at the dog-eared photos.

"Yeah. I might not be able to remember my family but I'm not abandoning them."

Jack spread a smile at his words. "I just heard the Doctor. Okay, you're on. But when you're healed. Do you..." Jack suddenly stopped, really having to psyche himself up for his next words. "Do you still want to... regenerate?"

"No," the Doctor replied.

Martha and Jack simultaneously sighed in relief.

"Jack." Ianto entered with Cujo still on a lead.

The Doctor's eyes widened immediately, sitting up with a wince and backing up on the bed. "What's that?" he asked, pointing.

"Dog," Jack replied, patting Cujo on the head. "He's called Cujo. I tried to train him up to be the Torchwood dog but he's too much of a big softie so Yan keeps him at home. What's up?" he asked Ianto.

"I was wondering..." Ianto paused, clearly not wanting to say his next words. "... If you wanted me to... you know. Clean up."

Jack shook his head immediately. "No, I'll do that. You two be okay while I'm gone?" he directed to Martha and the Doctor.

"We're fine," Martha assured him as the Doctor continued to stare at Cujo. Jack noticed.

"He won't hurt you," Jack said, laughing. "Not a single unloving bone in that dog's body. Give him a stroke."

"Umm..." the Doctor said, slightly apprehensive.

Ianto took Cujo off of his lead, and the happy dog bounded straight to the Doctor, jumping up and down continuously with his tongue hanging out. The Doctor looked a little terrified but incredibly bewildered at the same time.

Jack just laughed, and left.

* * *

Jack returned to the scene where the ex-bounty hunter was still strewn out across the room.

The Doctor must've watched every second of it from where he had been standing.

It was almost sickening Jack that the sight of this wasn't _actually_ sickening him – he was clearly far too used to seeing bodies like this. He simply stepped through the mess to get to the main area of the body, and knelt down to rummage in the pockets. He wasn't really expecting to find anything but he was praying all the same. He was about to give up when he finally happened on a piece of paper, and he pulled it out and opened it.

**By order of the Shadow Proclamation**

**The Shadow Proclamation hereby orders the capture of the individual known as 'Echo', to be executed under article 3.4 for offences of serial homicide for SP 3,000,000,000 currency and universal equivalent.**

**'Echo' may be captured dead or alive.**

It concluded with the seal of the Shadow Proclamation and eight signatures of the surviving hierarchy.

This didn't make any sense. The Doctor wasn't Echo, but the bounty hunters were tracking Echo to him. It was probably via the tracking chip they couldn't extract. But who was Echo? Why were they killing the Shadow Proclamation? What exactly was the link here that he couldn't see? What identity was on the tracker chip? What had happened at the Proclamation twelve years ago?

At least Jack was getting pretty certain about one thing. Whoever Echo was and whatever reason they had to kill the Shadow Proclamation one by one, they were most likely the one that did this to the Doctor. They had him cornered, wiped his mind and stuck the tracking chip in him to divert the bounty hunters. They'd destroyed his mind without a care and used him as pawn in their grand plans.

By no means was it the _right_ explanation, but it was the best Jack had.


	15. Man Instinct

**A/N:** And now for something completely different...!?

* * *

Chapter 15 – Man Instinct

The weeks passed quickly. Jack spent his time out of the med-bay trying to reroute the power of the rift to form an outer shield to the Hub to stop any more bounty hunters from entering unannounced. After two weeks he'd managed it, completing the circuit on the day the Doctor ate his first dinner with everyone for six weeks.

He barely ate the food, but it didn't even matter. Everyone chatted and laughed, sharing gossip and anecdotes together. It was almost like how it used to be.

The next day Martha took off the last of his casts and replaced them with bandages, warning him not to do anything to break his bones again or he'd have to face her wrath, before Jack whisked him off to go clothes shopping, as the Doctor was still wearing all Jack's clothes that were far too large for him.

The worst part was trying to find out what size he wore. Jackie's tried and tested method of measuring tape and the back of an Argos catalogue told a very different story to the actual shops, so they were repeatedly moving between sizes to try and find the one that fitted him the best.

"Is this what everyone does?" the Doctor wondered as he came out of the dressing room for the sixteenth time in a collared shirt. "Because I'm really bored."

"Yep," Jackie affirmed, checking the fit on him.

"It's what women do," Mickey explained.

"All day. Just go in, change, come back out, talk a bit about their hips and the whole thing repeats itself," Jack added.

"They can go for days," Mickey said, Jack nodding in agreement.

"Oi!" Jackie disparaged, rolling her eyes. "We 'aven't even got on to choosin' anythin' yet."

"God save us," Jack muttered under his breath.

"You can shut up and all," Jackie replied, still checking the Doctor.

"I'm bored," the Doctor whined after a few moments.

"Are you sure you've lost your memory?" Jackie asked seriously. "You're exactly the same. Rose said she took you clothes shoppin' once and you threatened to throw a tantrum when she'd only been in two shops."

"I think it's more of a normal male animal response to this situation," Jack put in.

"Yeah, it's his man instinct," Mickey agreed.

"You can't argue with biology," Jack added.

"Bloody men!" Jackie sighed, writing something down on her notepad. "Right, I think I got the sizes. Go and get changed."

"Again!?" the Doctor wailed, and walked back into the changing rooms dragging his feet like a moody teenager.

Jackie looked incredulous. Jack and Mickey both just snorted with laughter.

"I was thinkin' somethin' smart," Jackie said, changing the subject. "Like a shiny grey suit all ironed, a lovely frilly shirt and bow tie, with posh shoes, nice and polished."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Hey, memory or no memory he's still my best friend, and as a best friend I am _not _letting you dress him like someone from Hairspray."

Jackie harrumphed. "Fine, what do you suggest?"

"How about whatever he wants?" Mickey wondered.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jackie dismissed. "Men can't dress themselves, amnesia or not."

Jack rolled his eyes as the Doctor reappeared next to them, adjusting his shirt. "C'mon, Doc. Just five hours to go."

"That long?" the Doctor moaned. Jack and Mickey laughed again, both knowing full well how much Jackie wanted to have a go at him but wasn't able to.

"Just bloody move!" she said with a sigh instead, and started off to the door.

"Where are we going?" Jack called after her.

"Clothes shop!" she responded.

Mickey blinked, looking around their current surroundings. _"This _is a clothes shop!"

"They're tacky!" Jackie yelled back, causing the entire shop to hush, turn and stare at her. "What!?" she demanded, her Jackie-fiery-eyes-of-death (as the Doctor had dubbed them) flaring up. Instantly they all turned and pretended to be looking through clothes. She strutted out of the shop.

"I thought she was really nice," the Doctor muttered, staring after her with wide eyes.

Jack laughed at his expression, and guided him towards the door with his arm. "Let's go."

They stepped out into the shopping centre, deciding where to go next. Jackie was already marching off through the crowd towards H&M, so Jack guided the Doctor to follow.

He was a little nervous of the Saturday morning crowds, Jack could tell. So he gestured for Mickey to go in the front to carve the way through, but that didn't seem to help. It was Jack who decided to bail first, pulling them all to dive out of the crowd and stand away.

"Jack," the Doctor whined, staying close to his friend. "Everyone's staring at me. I don't like it."

Jack followed his gaze, and realised that people _were _staring at him. He then looked back at the Doctor, standing there still covered in bruises and cuts with his two black eyes, healing, but still very prominent.

"Got an idea," Jack said quickly, guiding them to the outside of another shop. "Look after him," he told Mickey. "Back in a second."

He disappeared into the shop.

"What's he doing?" the Doctor asked.

"No idea," Mickey responded.

"Why you standin' here!? H and M have got a sale on!" Jackie's voice came from afar, and they both turned to see her marching towards them.

"The Doctor's uncomfortable, Jack's had an idea," Mickey told her.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Jackie asked anxiously, looking at the Doctor.

The Doctor's eyes flickered across the shopping centre again. "People are... staring at me."

Jackie turned, and indeed saw several people staring at the Doctor, pointing and whispering.

She fumed instantly. "What you all _bloody _starin' at, eh!?"

They scattered immediately.

"... You're really scary," the Doctor muttered, staring at her.

"Got 'em!" Jack had returned, carrying a pair of aviator sunglasses. He reached up and put them on the Doctor to shield most of his bruised face. "Better?"

The Doctor touched them for a moment, looking around in wonder and waving his hand in front of his eyes. "Everything went dark," he eventually said.

Everyone laughed.

"You're a cool guy, now," Jack joked.

"You look like you're in Top Gun. You know Top Gun?" Jackie wondered. Jack was about to interrupt, thinking that was a slightly ridiculous notion, but the Doctor got there first.

"Film from 1986, directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and Kelly McGillis with a running time of 110 minutes?" he asked.

Everyone's jaws simultaneously dropped.

"Pardon?" Jackie asked, astonished.

"That's right, isn't it?" the Doctor wondered.

"Um... yeah," Jack said, frowning. "How do you know that?"

"I dunno, I just do," the Doctor replied, shrugging slightly.

"You mean it's just in your head?" Jack asked, glancing at Jackie and Mickey.

"Yeah. Or maybe because I saw it in your DVD collection and I read the back," the Doctor added, grinning slightly.

Jack instantly realised, and laughed. "You just made a joke."

The Doctor's grin widened, and they all felt incredibly warmed by it.

"I'm hungry," Mickey suddenly announced.

"We can't break for lunch yet!" Jackie insisted, tapping her watch on her wrist. "We're on a schedule, 'ere!"

"I'm hungry too," Jack agreed, like two small children out to irritate their mother.

"I said no!"

The Doctor looked at Mickey and Jack, pulling a smile before looking back at Jackie. "I'm hungry as well," he said.

Jackie sighed. "Oh fine, let's have lunch."

She disappeared back into the heaving crowd.

Jack looked at the Doctor. "Are you even hungry?"

"No," the Doctor replied, still grinning. He clearly knew full well that while he was like this Jackie would cater for his every whim.

"First lie!" Jack said, looking at Mickey. They both laughed, before trying to find Jackie again.

* * *

Jack lost the Doctor at precisely 8:30pm. He knew this because after ten minutes of the Doctor getting every scientific question right on University Challenge Jack had slipped into sleep, and woken up at the end credits to find that the Doctor wasn't sitting next to him anymore.

Slightly flustered he found Martha in the main Hub, sitting at a computer next to Mickey.

"Martha? You seen the Doctor?" Jack asked anxiously.

Martha laughed at his expression. "Relax, he went down to the supply stores."

"Oh," Jack said, breathing out a sigh of relief, before frowning. "Why?"

"He said he wanted to look through some more stuff to get his brain working."

"Oh, okay," Jack said, and left her and Mickey to go down to the supply stores.

He wasn't there. He'd lied again.

Jack left the supply store and started back to the main Hub to have a tiny mental breakdown of panic, before he realised the door to the cells was slightly ajar. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not yet, so he opened the door and stepped through.

He found the Doctor sitting opposite Janet's cell against the wall, his arms around his knees, just staring at her. She was staring back. Not even with her teeth bared like Jack was used to – just staring in return at him.

Jack took a quiet step forward, dropping to sit down next to the Doctor.

"Why do I feel so sad?" the Doctor wondered suddenly, not even looking at Jack.

Jack looked at him. "Not sure. Is something wrong?"

"It's in my head," the Doctor told him. "This feeling. I don't know why. Every time I look at her I feel like crying." He pointed at Janet.

"You're telepathic, and weevils are to some degree," Jack told him. "You must be feeling her distress. Might be why she doesn't attack you."

"It's so strong," the Doctor moaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"You're unfiltered at the moment; you haven't learnt how to shield it yet."

"Why is she so sad, then?"

"She _has_ been shot," Jack reminded him.

"No," the Doctor muttered, looking up to stare at Janet again. "It's not that. It's bigger than that."

Instantly Jack realised. "Oh. The day you... well, the day I went out, we ended up killing a weevil. She must know."

"You shouldn't do that."

"We had no choice."

"But it was a living thing. You shouldn't kill living things."

"I know, Doc, I know I said I wouldn't but you know, it was kill or have Cardiff killed, so how about you stop with the lectures and..."

Jack trailed off suddenly, realising what he'd said. The Doctor was staring at him, his eyebrows lowered in confusion.

"Sorry, wasn't thinking," Jack garbled out. "For a moment there I kinda thought... Never mind," he muttered, and jumped to his feet. "Hey, I was gonna teach you how to fight."

The Doctor got up too. "Now?"

"Best time is now," Jack replied, grinning and taking his hand. "C'mon."

* * *

"Right," Jack said, finishing wrapping up the Doctor's hands with tape. "Martha'll go mad if she knows I'm doing this before you're fully healed so go easy on yourself. And not a word to her."

The Doctor nodded.

"Okay, tighten your fist, keep your thumb on the outside," Jack ordered, holding up the Doctor's wrist. "Curl in your fingers and bend them as much as possible; curl them right into your palm. You wanna keep all your knuckles together; get all bones as tight as you can so they reinforce each other. Too loose and you'll break your hand on impact. Bend your thumb so it crosses your index and middle finger." Jack held up a palm. "Press it into my hand. If it hurts you've done it wrong."

The Doctor made his fist and pushed it into Jack's hand, pressing as hard as he could for several long seconds.

"Hurt?" Jack asked.

"No," the Doctor replied, pulling back.

"Good," Jack said, and moved into his stance. "Now, stance. Left foot in front of right. Use your right as guard, keep it up as much as you can – that's what saves you from an instant KO. Let's see it."

The Doctor moved into his stance. Jack took his right arm and pushed it up into his chin slowly, while pulling out his left arm to extend slightly more. "Keep your right by your chin for instant protection if someone goes near your head. Extend your left – that's your lead hand; where most of your quickies and set ups are coming from. Got it?"

The Doctor nodded again.

Jack moved to the punch-bag quickly. "Four basic moves you need to know. Jab, hook, cross and uppercut." He demonstrated a jab into the bag. "The jab's a feeler and set up punch. If you throw a jab you're feeling for distance, or to set up for a heavier hit, like the hook." He demonstrated the hook, next. "The hook's a power punch, and you're aiming for the jaw. You need a huge amount of power behind it. Remember, step forward, turn your body, and throw the punch."

"Step, turn, throw," the Doctor repeated, nodding.

"It's a slow punch you can use when your opponent's temporarily stunned, not before."

"Step, turn, throw," the Doctor repeated again.

Jack nodded. "Okay, cross. This is another power punch." He demonstrated again. "Roll your shoulder with the punch, twist your torso and waist. Soon as you've made contact, bring your guard straight back up again. You can use it after a jab quickly in a one-two combo, or use it to set up a hook. Are you getting this?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said, practising slowly in the air.

"Good. Last one, uppercut. Used right, this is the worst of them all. Bend knees, fist straight up to the chin." He demonstrated on the punch-bag again. "If you hit them just right they'll lift and you can follow up with a hook, and no guy I've hit in the universe hasn't hit the ground after that one. You got those?"

The Doctor nodded once more. "Jab, hook, cross, uppercut, step, turn, throw and guard," he uttered in a mantra.

Jack grinned. "Excellent. Right, hit me."

The Doctor blinked. "What?"

"Hook, quick."

"Okay," the Doctor responded, and threw a hook like lightning. It connected with an unprepared Jack's face and he hit the floor in a yelp of surprise.

The Doctor dived to him immediately, his jaw agape. "Jack, I'm sorry!"

"S'alright," Jack muttered, getting up and pressing his fingers to his mouth. His lip had split. He turned back to the Doctor, trying to get a bit of bravado back. "Now... I did that for a reason..."

The Doctor stared at him. "Really? What reason?"

"Err... Oh, God no, you got me good," Jack admitted, still pressing at his lip. "Ow. I wasn't ready. Okay." He held up his arms again, ensuring complete defence. "Right. Now jab to the stomach, I'm ready."

The Doctor did so, and this time somehow managed to slip through Jack's guard to hit right in his stomach. Jack coughed and crippled, his breath instantly sucked out of him.

"I'm sorry!" the Doctor said again immediately.

"Bloody hell, Doctor," Jack coughed out, struggling to sit upright again. "I didn't know you... could punch so hard."

"... Sorry?" the Doctor tried again.

"Don't be... sorry," Jack gasped, still doubled over, then he suddenly launched out, yelled, "guard!" and went straight for the Doctor. The next thing Jack knew, he was lying flat on his back on the floor having been parried and slammed into it.

"Sorry!" the Doctor yelped again, staring at his own hands in wonder.

"Oh god," Jack moaned, still winded and not daring to get up for fear of being assailed again. "You know... what, Doc? I don't... think I need to... teach you anything... You already know it."

"Oh."

"Lesson end..." Jack wheezed out. "And go find... Martha... I think I've punctured... a lung."

* * *

After a very lengthy lecture about how utterly stupid they had been from Martha and after a very lengthy bout of laughing from Mickey, Martha and Mickey went to assist Jack, leaving the Doctor alone in the Hub with Gwen. Gwen invited him over with a cheery wave, so he went to her and took a seat.

"How are you?" Gwen asked.

"Okay," the Doctor replied, nodding. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Can't promise I'll have an answer but I'll try."

"What is love?"

Gwen pulled a face. "Start off with an easy one, why don't you."

"Is it a stupid question?" the Doctor wondered.

"No, it's just... Never mind. Why d'you wanna know?"

"I know what it's supposed to be, I saw it on a tape Jack showed me," the Doctor told her. "Of me and Rose. I said I loved her and she said she loved me, then we did this weird thing where we put our faces together."

Gwen couldn't resist laughing at that. "That's called kissing. When you love someone, to show you love them you kiss."

"Why?"

"It's... Well, I dunno exactly. It's the thing we do."

"But how do you know if you feel this love?"

"Well, okay," Gwen cleared her throat to prepare for an explanation, leaning forward. "Love is... it's an emotion, a very strong emotion you feel for someone else. It's... Well, when I'm with Rhys, I'm happy. You just want to be with that person forever. You always want to make sure they're happy too."

"Okay," the Doctor muttered, stroking his chin.

"Why?" Gwen wondered.

"I think I'm in love," the Doctor responded.

"With who? Rose?"

"No."

"Then who?"

The Doctor looked slightly awkward. "I don't think I should tell you."

"It's Jack, isn't it," she said, smiling slightly.

"Yeah..." the Doctor muttered, looking away.

Gwen bit back her laugh. "Been there done that," she told him. "Everyone has a phase."

"What should I do?" the Doctor wondered.

"Don't say anything yet," she said. "Wait, see how you feel later. You're still married to Rose, you never know. When you see her again you'll remember."

"You think I will? See her again?"

"I'm certain."

"... And you won't tell him?"

"Oh no," Gwen assured him. "Promise. Pinky swears."

She raised her little finger. He looked at it, plainly confused. She took his right arm with her left and coaxed him to put his little finger to lock with hers. She tightened it, and he responded in kind.

"You all do some weird things," the Doctor muttered, staring at the pinky swear.

Gwen laughed, breaking the lock. "You can't love him too much. Didn't you just beat him up?"

"I didn't mean to," the Doctor insisted.

She laughed again, just as Jack, Martha and Mickey reappeared.

"I knew that he's a Tenth Degree Venusian Aikido Master but I've never seen him use it!" was Jack's excuse to the other two, coming up the steps. "How was I supposed to know he still knew it!?"

"You shouldn't have been fighting anyway! Men! Can't go without a fight for more than twenty minutes!" Martha exclaimed, clearly extremely annoyed.

Ianto stepped in front of the three, his expression very sombre. "Jack, he's here."

"We were play-fighting!" Jack insisted, ignoring Ianto.

"Because play-fighting involves nearly breaking ribs, does it? He's already wrecked five! Imagine if that'd been him and not you! He'd be back in the med-bay!"

"JACK!" Ianto yelled, and all three stopped immediately. Ianto leant forward and whispered something to them.

All three instantaneously paled incredibly.

"Doctor, go to my office," Jack said immediately to him, looking up.

"Why?" the Doctor asked.

"Just go there!" Jack yelled, and with an encouraging pat on the arm from Gwen the Doctor did as Jack asked, and went up the stairs.

"What's going on?" Gwen asked, moving to them.

"The..." Jack began but trailed off, looking at the door. Everyone followed suit.

There was the Master.

"Good evening," he said, sauntering in leisurely and wiping a finger on one of the desks as he went. He stopped and checked his finger. He pulled a disgusted face, flicked off the dust and finally looked up at Jack. "I'd like to see the Doctor, please."

* * *

**A/N: **I'll review reply NEXT chapter cos that's the interesting one... *giggle giggle*


	16. The Master and the Doctor

**A/N:** I haven't written a word of the next chapter yet. Good luck me! :o

* * *

Chapter 16 – The Master and the Doctor

Jack moved forward, his fists clenched. "Leave, Master."

"Umm, no," the Master replied, taking Mickey's abandoned chair, spinning in it gleefully for a second before propping his feet up on the table and folding his arms.

"I told you to leave," Jack grated, moving to within five metres of him and pulling out his gun to point at the Master's head.

"Oh, jumpy," the Master commented, seemingly unabashed. "Where is he?"

"I will shoot you if you don't leave within thirty seconds," Jack spat.

"Bad day?" the Master wondered, not moving. "I'd just like to talk to him. Fellow species, and all that."

"I said I'll shoot you!"

"Jack," suddenly came a voice from above. "Don't hurt living things."

"There he is!" the Master exclaimed, waving at the Doctor enthusiastically. The Doctor just frowned back.

Jack put away his gun and ran up to meet the Doctor, dragging him back into his office and shutting the door.

"I told you to stay in here," he grated.

"But he wants to talk to me," the Doctor protested.

"You're not seeing him."

"Why not?"

"You're just not!" Jack yelled, before getting a grip on himself taking a steely breath. "Sorry. He's evil, Doctor. He'll only hurt you. That's all he ever does."

"Why do we hate the Master?"

Jack let out a long, breathy sigh. "It's a long story."

"Please tell me."

Jack swallowed, pausing for a moment as if making a massive decision in his head. Then he guided the Doctor to sit down in the chair and perched himself on the table.

"He... He was your enemy long before I met you. When I first met him he had forced the humans to elect him as Prime Minister, and he abused that power. He abused humanity. You tried to stop him but he... Well he stopped you and imprisoned me, you and Martha's family. After a year you managed to stop him, and reverse time so humanity could forget... But we couldn't. That was the Year That Never Was. We don't... We don't talk about that. Not ever."

The Doctor just gazed at him, about to open his mouth. Jack decided to get in quickly before he asked any questions about it.

"We thought he'd died, but when we saw him again it was with your future self while Rose was pregnant with Leah. The Master shot you, nearly drowned Rose, and then kidnapped her and almost killed everyone else in the process. He's a lucky son of a bitch because he survived and crashed on Earth. We didn't see him again for two years, when Rose got pregnant with Alex, but then you got into a tight spot with the Shadow Proclamation and had to ask him to repay a debt to you. But he betrayed you, and you and your family ended up being imprisoned and interrogated by the Proclamation for months. You were tortured, Rose was confined, your daughter was tested on, your unborn son was being manipulated in the womb and he just watched it all; did nothing. After that you cut him out of your life. You said he was dead to you and he left. I hadn't seen him until last week when he dragged you into the shop. I wanted to kick his guts out for even being here, even more for having you."

The Doctor continued to gaze at him. "What happened in the Year That Never Was?"

Jack looked at the floor, desperate to not have to give him an answer to that but he had no choice. "That was the worst year of our lives. He... He took you to the brink. He loved every bit of what he did to you and you... God Doc, please don't make me say it out loud."

"I won't," the Doctor assured him. "But was everyone okay in the end?"

"Define 'okay'," was all Jack responded, staring at the ground.

"Was I okay?"

Jack paused, eyes flickering across the floor as though he were searching it for an answer to that question. "... No."

"Did he hurt me?"

"... Yes."

"How much?"

"I couldn't compare it to anything I've known."

"And he did that to me?"

"Every damn day for a year," Jack spat out, beginning to get angry at the memory now. "365 days of being there, hearing you, hearing everything and seeing you break in front of me like a piece of fucking glass and guess what? I couldn't do _anything! _I stood there in chains like a plank of wood, not even able to help you, didn't I? Staring at it all, staring at _you_ descend into a pile of absolutely _nothing! _Everything taken from you... Nothing left. Nothing left to lose. That was what he did to you and you're lucky, now. You don't remember it anymore. I hope, Doctor, I really fucking hope it never comes back."

The Doctor just stared at Jack, just sitting there with his head in his hands. Then he stood up. "I'd like to see him."

Jack looked up immediately. "Did you just hear what I said!?"

"Maybe he can help me get to the Proclamation," the Doctor pointed out.

"You can't trust him!"

"I just want to talk to him."

"No!"

"Please, Jack," the Doctor said softly. "I need to find my family. This could be my only chance."

Jack faltered at his words and his expression, so sincere. His deep brown eyes were shining, staring straight into his.

"I can't let you walk into this..." Jack whispered. "I can't let him have you just like that."

"Then come with me."

Jack fell silent for a very long time, staring at the Doctor. Then he got up, leant forward and hugged the Doctor tightly. Protectively. Feeble half-broken bones, lacerated flesh and exposed blood making up the fragile structure of the man who was willing to risk that very mortal body being battered beyond belief even more to save a bunch of strangers.

"Okay," Jack finally said, pulling back. "But I'm doing this for you."

The Doctor smiled. "Thank you."

* * *

The Master was still sitting on Mickey's chair in the middle of the Hub with his arms folded, being watched by every member of Torchwood as though he were about to explode. He had a smarmy smile on his face, enjoying looking at each of them in turn so they would instantly look away.

"Doctor," he greeted, getting up as the Doctor and Jack reached him. The Master panned the other Gallifreyan up and down, raising a slight eyebrow. The Doctor's sideburns were prominent, as well as with a coating of stubble that made it blatantly obvious they hadn't had any time to shave recently. His hair was as chaotic as usual, and bizarrely for the Doctor, he was dressed in a pair of black jeans, a plain white T-shirt with a pair of aviators hooked over the hem of his neck, a dark red cardigan and a pair of hi-top trainers. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing thick bandages wrapped around his right arm and wrist. His face was covered in bruises and cuts, particularly the right side.

"Hello," the Doctor replied simply.

"You look like you got into a really good fight," the Master told him.

"I jumped off of a building," the Doctor replied with no hesitation.

"... What?"

"Don't think that's anything to do with you," Jack said dryly.

"Excuse me, conversation between higher species, move along," the Master replied condescendingly, barely paying attention to him. "Let's talk out the way of these sticky humans, Doctor."

"They're my friends," the Doctor defended.

"They don't sound like friends if they let you jump off a building," the Master pointed out.

Jack fumed. "And I suppose real friends are like you, right?"

The Master ignored him. "Doctor, we need to talk without the drooling lapdog."

"For god's sake," Jack spat, and pointed to a side door. "We'll go in there."

He took the two Gallifreyans through a side-door into a small storage area, closing the door behind him.

"I'd rather you didn't listen in, you probably wouldn't understand intelligent conversation," the Master said airily to Jack. "You might get confused."

"Shut up," Jack spat.

The Master just grinned, looking at the Doctor again. "Why did you jump off of a building?" he wondered.

"I wanted to kill myself," the Doctor replied calmly.

"Why?"

"To regenerate."

"What do you want, Master?" Jack interrupted swiftly, keeping a protective hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Get lost, Freak," the Master said, batting him away and focusing on the Doctor. "Why did you want to regenerate?"

"So my head would fix," the Doctor answered.

"You mean your memory? How is it?"

"I can't remember anything."

The Master's eyebrows lowered, confused. "But... It's been months. Let me take a look."

He reached up to the Doctor's head, but the Doctor instantly ducked away, flinching.

"Don't do that thing again," the Doctor said, wide-eyed. "The thing where I couldn't move."

"I won't," the Master assured him, his voice surprisingly quite soft and truthful. "Let me just have a look."

"What's wrong with you?" Jack asked the Master seriously.

"Go away," the Master grated, his eyes fixed on the Doctor. "Let me see in your head."

"No!" Jack chimed instantly, but the Doctor held up a hand.

"No, Jack. I'm okay with it," the Doctor insisted.

Jack looked at him in horror. "No, Doctor, seriously, you can't..."

"Jack," the Doctor said firmly, turning to look at him. "What have I got to lose?"

Jack fell absolutely silent. Eventually the Doctor turned back to the Master, and nodded.

The Master reached forward to put his fingers on the Doctor's temple, closing his eyes. They remained like that for a good while, and when the Master drew back he was obviously in complete shock.

"There's nothing... nothing in there," he realised in horror. "Oh, Rassilon. Thete, please. You have to remember. Remember the Academy? How we skipped classes to run through the fields on Mount Perdition? We used to... We used to yell up to the sky, and Brabbajaggl used to tell us we were a waste of space... Remember Brabbajaggl? His fat face and antique collar, and how when he got angry his face used to go all red and his cheeks puffed up?"

The Doctor was just staring at him, shaking his head.

The Master was suddenly a completely different man, desperate to get through to the Doctor. "What about the stories we used to get told? The Toclafane, Grandfather Paradox? What about your family? Do you remember Irving? How about Badger? Rallon? Millennia? What about... what about when you told me you were kicked in the head by a Baanjxx when you were a kid, and that's why everyone thought you were a renegade? Or those times we went to the Lowtown for a drink, and one time we were both so drunk I ended up taking six Shobogans in a fight?"

The Doctor shook his head again as Jack just stood there, jaw agape. He knew there had been so much more to the Doctor and the Master's history than he knew, but this was incredible. This was why the Doctor found it so difficult to fully hate the Master...

"The Deca!" the Master suddenly recalled, finger in the air. "The Deca, we were in the Deca with Drax and Ushas and everyone, everyone else hated us for being so smart. But you always used to be better than me and I was dying to beat you, but you never noticed I cared... The Gallifrey Academy Hot Five! I was on drums, you were on Perigosto Stick. Oh wow, your Perigosto Stick. Everyone teased you about yours... remember? Please tell me you remember."

The Doctor continued to gaze at him without a hint of recognition from his words. He just shook his head.

This didn't dissuade the Master. He pushed on, dying to find something the Doctor could recall – almost _begging _him now. "You were disinherited and banished when Quences wanted you to be a cardinal and you refused. The graduation, how about our graduation? When we were finally Time Lords, we were the Class of '92... I threw you the really bad end of term party. We got our Tardises and my Tardis used to think you were a lunatic. Please, Thete."

The Doctor shook his head one final time. "I'm sorry, Master."

"Doctor..." the Master croaked, his head dropping to his hands. "I... I don't want to be the only one left," he mumbled through his fingers.

The Doctor was still staring, his head slightly tilted, his expression inquisitive. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I don't know what to tell you."

The Master swallowed, looking to the floor with his head still in his hands. There was a very long silence. Absolutely no one dared to speak.

"... All right," the Master finally croaked. "I'm going to help you." He suddenly looked at Jack, his eyes abruptly narrowing. "A word of this to anyone and you'll regret it, Freak."

Jack kept his mouth shut, and just nodded to show he'd acknowledged the threat.

"I take it we start at the Shadow Proclamation," the Master continued.

The Doctor nodded. "Can you get us there?"

"Yes," the Master confirmed, looking back at Jack – and his Time Manipulator. "Arm out."

Jack looked surprised. "What? Now?"

"No, I thought sometime next year for the summer holiday," the Master replied sarcastically. "Of course now, stupid. Arm out."

Apprehensively, Jack held out his arm. The Master took the Doctor's hand and held it on the manipulator, and then punched a few keys. Within two seconds, all three disappeared.

* * *

**A/N:** Review reply! Fire away! :D


	17. Dear Diary 4

**A/N:** I always feel review reply is so underwhelming. I'm terrible at that. No charisma. That's it! :P But big, sincere, humble thank yous from me to everyone :)

And all that wait for this? Ah, so sorry.

* * *

Chapter 17 – Dear Diary 4

**31****st**** October 2009 (Earth time) Leah – 1 year old**

_Dear diary,_

_The Doctor, here. Rose went on a 'girls' holiday with Martha, Sarah and Gwen (nope, me neither) for a week..._

* * *

The phone in the console room was ringing.

The little one-year-old toddled up to the console, looking around for one of her parents but they weren't there. So she went onto her tip-toes, reaching a desperate arm up over the side of the console and managed to hook the phone with one finger, which dropped down the side of the console, hanging by the cord. She took it in both hands, then held it the wrong way against her face.

"Hi," she said down the wrong end of the phone. "Hi? Hi!" she tried again, but she couldn't hear anyone talking back. Then she realised her error, and turned the phone back the right way. "Hi?" she tried again.

"_Oh, err... Hello?" _a voice asked down the phone.

"Hi," Leah repeated.

"_Is that Leah?"_

"Yeah," Leah replied.

"_Hello, Leah. How are you?"_

"'Kay," Leah said politely. "How ah?"

"_I'm very well, thank you for asking."_

"Who ah?" Leah wondered, spinning around in the cord.

"_I'm Sarah Jane, I'm a friend of your Mummy and Daddy's."_

"Mumma on loo," Leah told her straight up.

"_Your... Mummy's on the loo?"_

"Yeah," Leah replied, nodding though Sarah couldn't see. "She a doo-doo."

Sarah laughed on the other end. "_Well, we can talk while we wait. So what have you been doing today, Leah?"_

"Me... Dadda pay."

"_What did you play?"_

"Hide 'n seek."

"_Oh, really? That sounds fun. Who won?"_

"Dunno," Leah replied, sniffing. "Noddone."

"_... You're not done? You're still playing?"_

"He is," Leah replied simply.

Sarah burst out laughing again. "_He doesn't know you stopped playing?"_

"No."

"_Leah, you really have to go and find him and tell him you're not playing anymore, okay?"_

"Mmm," Leah said, but ignored that. "Wad 'boiler 'ead' mean?"

"_Say that again?"_

"Boiler 'ead."

"_Oh, you mean 'boil your head'?"_

"Yeah."

"_If you're having an argument and you're fed up with the person, you tell them to go and boil their head, which means you're telling them to go and do something bad for themselves."_

"Dudit hurt?"

"_What?"_

"Boiler 'ead."

"_Well, I expect it might hurt... Why are you asking me this, Leah? Did someone say it to you?"_

"No," Leah replied, twirling in the cord some more. "Mumma say 'boiler 'ead' to Dadda and he goned and I finks he did a 'boiler 'ead'."

Sarah laughed again."_Oh, were your Mummy and Daddy having an argument?"_

"Yeah."

"_Aww, well they should know better than to do it in front of you. I'll have a word with Daddy for you."_

"'Kay," Leah said.

"_Now I really think you should find your Daddy and tell him you're not playing anymore."_

"'Kay," Leah repeated, and made to step back but instead found herself tangled in metres of phone cord. "Dadda!" she wailed, struggling in her self-made strait jacket.

The Doctor leapt out immediately from his hiding place under the console, nearly frightening the life out of her. "You're not playing anymore?" he asked seriously. "I've been under there for half an hour!"

"Dadda," she sobbed, standing there wrapped in phone cord.

"Oh no, you're getting yourself out of that one," he said seriously.

"DADDA!" she wailed, and immediately began to cry.

The Doctor tried _so_ desperately not to submit to her. He kept doing it, every single time. Rose had called him up on it. He needed to step back and let her fix her own problems, she had said. He agreed with her too. He was trying to change.

He couldn't.

"Ugh," he moaned, dropping down and helping her out of the phone cord. The moment he did she stopped crying and beamed her captivating little smile until she was free.

"Fanksoo," she said sincerely. "Luvoo, Dadda."

"Love you too," he muttered, slightly distracted with kicking himself for submitting to her _yet _again. He reached for the phone, and unwittingly held it the wrong way to his face.

"Hello? … Hello?" He looked at the phone, then realised his error and turned it back around again. "Hello?"

"_Doctor?"_

"Yep?"

"_First thing's first, don't argue in front of Leah."_

"Oh, sorry, we were just talking about dinner and I wanted Kronkburgers and I know she hates them, so she..."

"_Doctor?" _Sarah interrupted.

"Yep?"

"_Second thing, can I talk to Rose?"_

"Oh, okay," he said. "Hold on a sec."

He moved to the monitor, pressing a button.

"This is a staff announcement; calling Rose Tyler to the console room, that's Rose Tyler to the console room, please, thank you!" he announced, and let go again.

Leah giggled at him, standing there looking adorable with her hands twisted in her shirt.

"Far too much like mummy," the Doctor muttered, and turned his attention back to Sarah again. "She's just coming."

"_Okay."_

"Dadda."

"What? Sorry, Sarah, it's Leah, hold on..." He looked down at Leah. "What is it?"

"Canava bissit?"

"What?"

"Bissit."

"You want a biscuit?"

"Yeah."

"We're having dinner soon."

"Bissit?" she asked again, very hopeful.

He steeled his resolve; determined to beat the one-year-old girl in a battle of not only dignity, but wits and cunning. "No, you can't have a biscuit," he stated as forcefully as he could.

"Peas, Dadda?" Her big brown eyes shined, gazing up at him as she twisted her hands more in her shirt.

"Oh, please don't do that..." the Doctor whined, staring at her standing there so tiny and utterly adorable.

"Dadda," she said again, those wide brown eyes now far beyond the capabilities of Puss in Boots.

"Oh, fine then!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. She immediately turned and toddled out of the door with speed just as Rose came in, stopping her.

"Leah, you're not havin' a biscuit," she said seriously.

"Buh Mumma..."

"Daddy is very silly and says silly things that aren't true," Rose told her seriously.

"But Mummy..." the Doctor whined, staring at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Go and play, and no biscuits okay?"

Leah looked incredibly disappointed. "'Kay," she muttered, and left.

Rose looked up at the Doctor, standing there still holding the phone. "Pathetic," she remarked, laughing at his defeated expression.

"It's the eyes!" he squeaked out. "She doesn't use those _eyes_ on you!"

She just laughed, and took the phone off of him. "Hi Sarah... Yeah, he's useless..."

The Doctor sighed, dropping into the chair and propping his feet up on the console.

"What... When? … Oh, okay... Yeah, the Doctor'll do it..."

The Doctor looked straight at her. "I'll do what?"

She ignored him. "Yeah, of course, what date is it? … Okay, I'll get you all at three... Bye!" She hung up.

"I'll do what?" the Doctor repeated.

"I'm going."

"What?"

"Me, Gwen, Martha and Sarah are gonna have a holiday."

"A holiday?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." She caught his expression. "What's so weird about that?"

"You do live your life as one long holiday, you know."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm goin' on a boat cruise," she told him.

"And what am I doing?"

"Pickin' everyone up and droppin' us all off at the boat," she said.

"Do I get a choice?"

"No! Thank you," she said, and pecked him a kiss before bouncing off to retrieve her sun cream.

* * *

"Now be good," Rose told Leah, knelt down to her. "Have fun... and look after Daddy."

Leah giggled as the Doctor pulled a face at Rose.

Rose grinned, hugging Leah tightly, kissing her three times for good measure. "I'll be back in a week, okay?"

"'Kay," Leah responded.

Rose moved to the Doctor next, hugging him and giving him three kisses too. "Be good."

"I will," he assured her, giving her a dazzling smile.

"Remember your new favourite word, starts with n and ends in o."

The Doctor frowned. "What?" he asked, before the penny dropped. "Oh! Yeah. Sure."

She just rolled her eyes at him. "Dinner's already out. Love you two! Bye!" she said, and left out the door. Even before she closed the door the Doctor distinctly heard her tell the girls, "he'll never do it!". A gaggle of women giggled in response as she shut the door.

The Doctor felt mildly insulted in all honesty. Suddenly that wasn't just Rose taking a holiday. It wasn't just looking after Leah. This was about pride, honour, dignity...

He took a breath and rolled back his shoulders to steel himself. "Leah, Daddy's in charge now so you have to do as I say, when I say and..."

He trailed off as he realised Leah wasn't even standing there anymore, running off down the corridor.

* * *

He found her in the kitchen, standing next to the food cupboard with her hand near her mouth. The instant she realised he was there she immediately pulled her hand away behind her back, looking very guilty.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Leah, did you have a biscuit?"

"No, ah dint," she replied innocently, crumbs flying out of her mouth.

The Doctor sighed. "Okay, never mind. That doesn't count. Come on."

He picked her up and sat her in her high-chair, where she obediently sat while he served the food Rose had prepared, sitting opposite her.

He started eating, but Leah was just staring at the bowl with her arms folded.

"Eat your dinner," he ordered her.

"No."

"What?"

"Dun like it. Notta bol!" she said, pushing it away and folding her arms again.

The Doctor stared. "What's wrong with it?"

"Notta bol!"

"But that _is _your bowl!" he protested.

"Not!" she retorted.

"Look, that's your special bowl and special plate and special spoon and special cup, and it's your favourite dinner. How can you not be interested?"

"Notta bol!"

"Fine, what do you want to eat?"

"Puddy."

"Pudding? How can you have pudding when you haven't even eaten the main course?"

"Puddy," she said again.

"No."

"Puddy!"

"No!"

She scooped up the contents of the bowl in her hand and threw it at him, straight into his eye.

"Leah!" he moaned, raking back the slop of food from his eye.

She laughed at him immediately, picking up some more and throwing it at him.

"Leah!" he yelled again, taking the defensive and raising his arms. "Don't throw food!"

She threw some more at him in response.

He dived for the bowl, pulling it out of her reach. "No pudding."

Leah was laughing at him covered in food far too much to care about pudding. The Doctor realised that in a very sadistic way, she'd won this one.

* * *

Six days later, a dishevelled Doctor walked down the TARDIS corridor with a steely expression on his face. He was covered in food, paint and various colours of liquid, with his clothes slightly torn and unchanged for days. His hair was everywhere, he was unshaved and smelt really quite bad.

Yes, he could admit it. Leah was winning_._

But he couldn't let her win. He couldn't let Rose say, "I told you so!", because he was the Doctor. He was a Time Lord. Intellectually superior to every other species in the universe. Super-villains trembled at the sound of his name, whole armies turned and ran away at the sight of him. He was the crème de la crème of world defence and millions, billions and (probably) trillions of lifeforms were still alive today because of him. Because he was the Doctor, and he was _undefeated._

He was so caught up in reassuring himself of how brilliant he was that he nearly tripped over a pile of toys, had to stumble to avoid them and nearly fell head first into the door.

He gathered himself and stood up, brushing himself down before entering the console room. Trying not to slip on the rivers of spilt finger-paint he programmed the TARDIS, waited, and landed with a 'thunk'. He then moved to the door, opened it, and instantly met Jack, Mickey and Ianto standing at a computer two metres away.

"Jack," he whined, his voice flat and pathetic. "Help me."

Jack stared at him, taking in every inch of his awful appearance. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked seriously.

"Help me," the Doctor repeated, looking extremely traumatised.

"What? Has something happened!?"

The Doctor looked around quickly, and then beckoned Ianto, Mickey and Jack into the TARDIS silently. They got up quickly, flooding inside...

"Jesus Christ," Jack muttered, looking around the console room scattered with toys and splattered with various colours of paint.

"The Tardis is _mad," _the Doctor murmured, a bit of custard dripping from his chin.

"What the hell happened?" Jack asked again, staring at the sight.

"Leah," the Doctor replied simply.

"You let her do this?"

"I don't know how to stop her!" the Doctor insisted. "It's been going on for a week!"

"Why don't you call Rose and ask for help?" Mickey wondered.

"That's admitting to her that I can't cope!" the Doctor squeaked.

"Well, clearly you can't," Jack pointed out.

"I know I can't, but she can't know that!" the Doctor whined. "Rose is coming back soon and every time I try to clean it up Leah wrecks somewhere else! Please, please help me, Jack."

Jack sighed, looking at a Lord of Time – the highest species in the Universe – standing there begging with him to help control a one-year-old. "All right. Where is she?"

"Her room."

"Okay, Yan, Mickey, start cleaning this room. Doc, go and clean yourself up. I'll find the monster and subdue her."

* * *

_When the women got back they found Jack locked in quarantine accidentally by Leah, Mickey in the infirmary with a concussion after falling over some toys, Ianto having close to nervous breakdown, me trapped in an alternate second of reality after Jack pressed the wrong button on the console and Leah eating everything out of the kitchen cupboard._

_Rose says she'll never go on holiday again._

_The Doctor x_


	18. Footsteps

Chapter 18 - Footsteps

Tchan woke up.

He immediately felt his entire torso screaming in pain, as though it were on fire. He gasped and opened his eyes, the world around him slowly coming into focus to reveal he was in a hospital room. How did he get here?

He looked down as his torso only to find it had clearly been operated on, his chest healing from a sonic incision. How had that happened? He remembered being at work, and then...

The door suddenly opened to reveal a Ganobian nurse dressed in the uniform for the Central Universal Hospital. Instantly he was relieved as she moved forward... Before she realised he was awake, and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Hello?" Tchan asked, struggling to sit up. "Scuse me, what's happening? Ma'am?"

She didn't answer; her face had turned, turned into an expression of what Tchan could only take as shock, horror, and for some reason... _fear_...

She turned, and ran back out again.

"No, stop!" Tchan yelled, but it was too late. She was gone. He made to get up to find out what was going on when he realised that his arm was in fact handcuffed to the side of the bed. … Wait a minute. Why was he handcuffed to the side rail?

Everything quickly began to correlate and draw together into a perfectly logical answer. There was really only one option but even the _idea_ of it made him feel physically sick with utter horror...

He could hear marching, then. He recognised the noise, it was the march of the Judoon. Judoon were coming.

Now he was panicking. He tried to escape but the cuffs held him firm, refusing to budge even an inch...

The Judoon reached the room, and he stopped immediately. They didn't waste any time, the lead Judoon stepping forward to address him.

"Tchan Bajolz?" it asked.

Tchan stared at the Judoon. "Yeah...?"

"Charge; terrorism..."

Every single cell of Tchan's insides immediately turned to ice. "What!?"

"Plea; guilty..." the Judoon continued.

"What are you _talking _about!? I haven't done anything!"

"Sentence; incarceration at Volag-Noc indefinitely."

"Please, no! You've got it wrong! I'm not a terrorist!" Tchan practically screamed in fright and confusion. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You will have no chance of parole," the Judoon carried on, clearly not listening to him.

"You're the ones that killed my planet!" Tchan yelled, fighting to get away again. "I didn't do _anything!"_

"You will not have a right to appeal..."

"You can't do this!"

"Sentence to commence immediately."

* * *

_"Time travel without a capsule, that's a killer."_

The Doctor's eternal words were ringing in Jack's head as everything slowly merged back into focus. His head felt like it was going to break apart, so he closed his eyes and moaned his way through the pain until he felt convinced enough that he was out the other side. Then he opened his eyes, and looked instantly for the Doctor.

This had been particularly nasty it seemed as the Doctor was kneeling on the floor curled in on himself and even the Master had to support himself against the wall.

"You okay, Doctor?" Jack asked, kneeling down next to him.

"That hurt," he moaned, accepting a hand-up from Jack.

"Don't mind me," the Master said insincerely, pushing himself up straight too.

Jack ignored him, still holding onto the Doctor's arm. He straightened the Gallifreyan out, meticulously pushing his hair from his face, pulling down his sleeves and putting the sunglasses back on him before finally turning to look at the place they'd ended up.

It was a dark alleyway surrounded by towering buildings, the dark red sky signifying the evening had drawn in directly above them. No less than four moons shone in the sky, bathing the planet in a warm red glow.

"This isn't the Shadow Proclamation," Jack realised.

"Observant, aren't you," the Master said dryly, stepping out from the alleyway.

Jack sighed and took the Doctor's hand, checking he was fine before joining the Master.

"Too quiet," the Master observed as they reached him.

"It's night-time," Jack pointed out with just a hint of a patronising tone.

"It's 8pm," the Master replied, just as patronising.

"Where are we anyway?" Jack asked.

"How should I know?"

"I thought you were a high and mighty superior Time Lord?"

"And you think that..."

"Shush," the Doctor interrupted, looking quickly around at their surroundings.

"Did he just shush me?" the Master asked, almost insulted as Jack laughed.

"Both of you!" the Doctor insisted, letting go of Jack's hand and stepping forward. "It doesn't feel right here. There's things... in my head. Voices."

"What can you hear?" Jack wondered.

The Doctor frowned. "... Confusion. Fear. And... And..." he suddenly stopped talking, swallowing as his eyes slowly widened. "They're here!" he suddenly shrieked, and began to panic. "No, no, no!" he screamed suddenly nearly bolting off but Jack caught his arm in time. "Get away, get me away!" he shrieked, urgently trying to escape Jack's grip.

"What the...!" Jack yelped, struggling to keep a hold of him without risk of damage.

The Master just stood there watching, his arms folded. "Just a guess, but try flashback?" he wondered.

"Run away, Jack!" the Doctor screamed in utter desperation, spit flying out of his mouth. He tried his entire bodyweight against Jack.

"Doctor! There's nothing..."

"Wait!" the Master said suddenly, straightening up with his finger in the air. "Footsteps. In sync... Judoon," he realised, looking back at Jack. "Judoon are coming."

He leant forward and grabbed the Doctor's other arm, dragging him towards a building. Jack had no choice but to follow his lead and pull the Doctor's struggling form after him, pushing through the door and shutting it quickly behind them.

The Doctor dropped to the floor immediately, curling up tightly to protect himself. The Master rapidly lost interest and moved to the window to check on the Judoon as Jack moved to the Doctor.

"Doctor..." he began.

"No, no, no," the Doctor repeated over and over again, shaking.

"We're fine in here, we're safe," Jack told him, pulling him into a tight hug. "No Judoon in here."

It took around a minute for him to calm down, by which time the Judoon had passed. The Doctor finally got up with Jack's help, still shaking and looking around nervously.

"W... Where are we?" he asked quietly.

Jack looked around. "Pub," he realised, letting go of the Doctor and starting towards the bar. "God, I could do with a drink."

"Why did you react like that?" the Master asked the Doctor directly, moving from the window again.

"Master," Jack warned in a low voice.

The Master ignored him, standing in front of the other Gallifreyan. "Why did you react to the Judoon like that?"

The Doctor stared at him with wide eyes, slowly wrapping his arms around himself.

"Master," Jack said again, firmly, pouring some drinks. "Leave him alone."

"Don't you want to find out?" the Master asked, genuinely surprised.

"Not now," Jack said firmly. "Seeing as you ran and hid from the Time War I don't expect you've ever experienced a proper fight, but people who do and come out the other end of a horrifying experience are deeply affected by it. Whatever happened to him was clearly harrowing and he's traumatised. That was a panic attack. He doesn't need any questions from you right now. He'll tell us when he's ready to talk."

The Master, for once, didn't have a clever retort. He just dropped into a chair and sighed, folding his arms. The Doctor remained stock still, still holding his arms tightly around himself. In the dead silence that followed Jack brought the drinks over, placing them down on the table before moving back to the Doctor.

"Doctor, relax. Sit down," he tried to coax him.

The Doctor looked at him for a long while, slowly letting his arms ease to drop by his sides. He then took a seat, hunched over and staring at the table surface in silence.

"So what are our options?" Jack wondered, sitting down next to the Doctor and taking a drink. "We can't be far from the Proclamation."

"We've bounced off," the Master muttered as he stared out of the window, clearly bored. "The Proclamation's probably been shielded. Most likely we're on one of the Haxuns."

"So we get a flight to the Proclamation, simple."

"Do you _choose_ to live your life in blissful ignorance?" the Master wondered.

"They wouldn't cut off their flights, even with the murders. They're the Proclamation," Jack nearly spat back. "It's their Universal duty."

"Monkey see, monkey do," the Master muttered airily.

"Shut up!" the Doctor suddenly screamed, curled up into himself with his hands over his ears, rocking back and forth.

"Doctor..." Jack began, shuffling forward.

"Stop... arguing!" he yelled. "Stop _screaming _in my head!"

"Okay, okay," Jack said quickly, glancing at the Master. "We'll stop arguing, all right?"

"Not you!" he shouted, hands raking through his hair.

"Who?" Jack immediately asked.

"Everyone! Everyone here! Screaming!"

The Master moved forward, intrigued by the Doctor. "Does he not have any filters up?"

"No, he can hear everything," Jack replied quickly. "Can you do anything?"

"Nope," the Master replied immediately, and lost interest again.

Jack sighed and pulled the Doctor into a hug.

"Jack, make them stop," the Doctor begged.

"I can't," Jack replied softly.

"MAKE THEM STOP!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

The Master rolled his eyes and leant forward again, pressing his whole palm against the Doctor's head. The Doctor sprung back instantly, his eyes widening. Jack was alarmed, just about managing to catch the Doctor as he collapsed back in a dead faint. Jack looked up at the Master, angry.

"What the he..."

"Relax," the Master interrupted smoothly. "Fixed his voice problem, he'll wake up in a minute."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "I thought you said you couldn't fix it?"

"Well, I lied," the Master replied, blasé.

"Why?"

"Come on, I have to have _some_ fun," the Master insisted.

Jack wanted to punch him, but before he could pull back a fist there was a sudden loud crash and the next thing they knew an alien in pyjamas was standing behind the bar with a laser shotgun in his hands.

"Get the fulak out of my house!" he screamed.

Jack got up immediately, keeping a hand on the Doctor. "Whoa, whoa, sorry, we were just sheltering, we didn't mean..."

"I've had _enough_ from the likes of you!" he yelled, raising his gun. "I can't take anymore! GET OUT!"

"Okay, okay!" Jack yelped, scooping up the Doctor as the Master got to his feet slowly, clearly unabashed. While Jack was getting out of the door the Master was straightening up his shirt and waving to the alien with the shotgun.

"Tata!" the Time Lord said cheerfully before he left, following Jack out into the street. He nearly walked right into him.

"What are you..."

"Look around," Jack muttered.

The Master, for once, took the order and did. He looked around properly for the first time, taking in the sight before him.

The street was an absolute wreck. Shop windows were smashed in, parts of roofs were burnt and several buildings were collapsing in on themselves... but by far the strangest thing was the sound. Or rather, the lack _of_ sound.

Total silence.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack muttered.

The Master stepped forward. "I think more has been going on than the Proclamation cares to tell us."

Jack frowned. "What?" he asked, but the Master didn't get a chance to reply as the Doctor stirred. Jack stood him up, holding onto him to support him as he came back to focus.

"Jack?" he asked after a moment.

"Morning," Jack replied happily. "Any more voices?"

The Doctor blinked rapidly, looking around for a moment. "No. Only whispers."

"Oi!" a voice suddenly shouted from behind them, and the three turned to find five aliens standing in the alleyway, guns at the ready. "You're on our fulakin' turf."

"Your turf?" the Master repeated, incredulous. "I think I'll walk wherever I like."

Jack winced as the alien's eyes widened at the Master's words... before it suddenly laughed.

"Hey, k'ashi 'umanoid thinks he's the boss!" the alien said jokingly, looking around at its company who also laughed. The Master just rolled his eyes.

"Look, we don't mean any trouble," Jack said quickly.

"You better be makin' tracks in five seconds flat, 'umanoid," the lead alien spat.

"We're going," Jack said quickly, guiding the Doctor away, but the Master just stood there, staring at the gang.

"Master!" Jack urged, desperate.

"Um, no," the Master said eventually, pursing his lips.

"You ain't fulackin' moved!" the alien screamed back, and fired his gun. It hit Jack squarely in the chest. The Doctor yelped in alarm as Jack hit the floor, immediately dead.

The Master launched forward straight away, grabbing the Doctor and pushing him into the doorway just as the Master was shot too. The Doctor panicked as the Master hit the floor, coughing and choking with his stomach smoking. He fell limp.

Then everything fell awfully quiet as the Doctor stood there hidden in the doorway, absolutely frozen with fear. He could see Jack and the Master, lying there immobile as the Doctor tried desperately not to breathe too hard...

"Come out, we won't kill you," the voice said, and the others laughed. They were getting nearer and nearer...

Jack... the Master... surely dead? He was alone. These people had killed them without remorse... They had _murdered them._

Suddenly the Doctor was angry. Very, very angry. What right did they have? To kill his friends? To murder without provocation!? They had killed living things, living, breathing beings...

There was only one sentence for that.

The Doctor felt his hand move without him doing it, and he looked down to see his right fist had clenched of its own accord. His fingers were curled into his palm with his thumb on top, his knuckles pressed together, reinforcing each other in the formation of a perfect fist...

He closed his eyes and began to focus on breathing through his nose as the anger in him built into a crescendo...

Then suddenly he could hear them breathing; every tiny breath rattling in and out their lungs. He could hear clothes shuffling, their heartbeats getting louder, closer. The whispers in his head were getting louder to the point he could make out words...

He felt a presence move to his left. Without even telling it to he launched out a fist and slammed it straight into the approaching alien's face. Then he wrenched open his eyes and looked, just in time to see the alien spiral up into the air and slam into the wall the other side of the alleyway with astonishing force.

"K'ashi!" one the aliens yelped, and then they were running. The Doctor didn't feel the need to panic. He calmly took off his sunglasses, hooked them over the neck of his shirt, and stepped out in front of them.

Four guns fired immediately, but he was already in a front roll. He leg-swept all four assailants, sending them all crashing to the floor. With precision and speed he began to attack relentlessly, twisting attacking kicks around to slam them into the floor as they approached, his feet and fists aiming for heads.

Every move came naturally, so he just let it take him over, regardless of the moves he was making. He dodged every hit and dealt out the rest, blood over the pavement and broken bones from head to toe of the two aliens he'd managed to pulverise within two minutes.

It was then two on one, and one charged. The Doctor anticipated his moves and put a punch straight to the approaching alien's neck. The alien choked and immediately collapsed to his knees as the Doctor dived to him, grabbing a chin in one hand and the back of the alien's head with the other and made to twist...

And then that was when everything stopped.

* * *

**A/N: **Really didn't plan that. :o


	19. Message from the Past

**A/N:** Well, that took longer than anticipated.

It's really bad. OH GOD I'M SORRY :'(

* * *

Chapter 19 – Message from the Past

Jack woke up with the usual gasp of air, his head spinning like a fairground ride. It took a few moments for him to summon up the courage to lift his head, open his eyes, and meet the sight of the Master sitting across the room next to the unconscious form of the Doctor lying on a bed.

"Master?" he muttered, confused.

The Master noticed him, pulling away from the Doctor. "Oh yay, Jack's awake, we're saved," he said insincerely.

Jack ignored him, looking at the Doctor. "What's he..."

The Master shrugged. "Search me."

Jack got up, barely looking at his surroundings as he checked the Doctor. He didn't seem to have any obvious physical injuries.

"No trauma," the Master told him.

"Did you check his head?" Jack asked anxiously, pressing a hand to the Doctor's face.

"Of course," the Master scoffed.

Jack fumed. "Do you get off on being a complete-"

Jack was cut off by the Master suddenly groaning and doubling over, causing Jack to look at him with a frown. "What's wrong with you?"

The Master completely ignored the question, recovering slightly and looking at the Doctor's face. "His head's a mess, all electrical activity is low, like it was severed and it's slowly creeping back up now. It's as though he just... stopped."

Jack nodded. "But he's okay?"

"Probably," the Master muttered, still doubled-over.

"What happened to the gang? And where the heck are we?"

"You do seem to assume I know everything," the Master breathed out, clearly in pain. "Do you always do this with the Doctor? No wonder he hangs around with you stupid humans, you're ego-boosters."

Jack ignored that. "Seriously, what's wrong with you?"

"I was shot, wasn't I?" the Master said disparagingly.

"Shot?" Jack repeated, looking at the Master's stomach area. He could see it had been treated and bandaged. "Are you all right?"

"I didn't know you felt so concerned for me," the Master muttered.

"I couldn't give a shit about you. Believe me, this is the last place I want to be."

"And yet here we are."

"I'm here for the Doctor and his family. Not you."

"I could walk out at any time, you know," the Master pointed out. "Leave you both here to sort all your little problems out for yourselves."

"Go ahead," Jack challenged, his teeth gritted. But before the Master had a chance to respond to that the Doctor suddenly flipped on the bed, moaning slightly and curling his fingers in...

Jack forgot about the Master immediately, as just as quickly the Doctor began to tremble where he lay. Jack held him firmly, desperate for the Doctor not to harm himself any further.

"What on Gallifrey!?" the Master exclaimed, getting to his feet with a groan and staring at the Doctor as he began to scream at the top of his lungs.

"He does this!" Jack yelled over the harrowing screams. "They're nightmares! We need to wake him up!"

The Master looked at him condescendingly. "This isn't a nightmare! You don't know Time Lords, do you!?"

Jack shot him a piercing look. "You don't know _him!"_

He held the Doctor tightly, willing him to wake up. After a few moments he settled and his eyelids flickered open, looking around in terror.

"Doc?" Jack asked quickly.

"Wh... Where are we? What happened? Jack!?" he yelled, gripping onto his friend's arm to blood-stopping point.

"It's okay, it's okay," Jack said quickly. "We're okay. No idea where we are, but we're all okay."

The Doctor swallowed, still holding onto Jack desperately as he struggled to his feet.

Jack hugged him tightly and caringly. "What can you remember?"

"I was angry, and I closed my eyes... Then... I was fighting," the Doctor muttered. "I beat them up, I had one by the neck, I was going to..." He stopped his sentence and stared at Jack in horror. "I was going to... break his neck."

Jack stared at him. "But you didn't?"

"I don't... I don't know. Everything stopped then," the Doctor croaked. "Jack, did I kill him?"

"Never mind that," the Master dismissed, staring at the Doctor. "How do you know how to fight?"

"He's a Tenth Degree Venusian Aikido Master," Jack replied in a tone that implied the Master was a complete moron.

"But you fought aggressively," the Master pointed out to the Doctor. "Venusian Aikido is entirely defensive. If you went anywhere near his neck then that is breaking every Venusian Aikido teaching."

There was a very long silence as the penny dropped with an awful clatter.

"Excuse me?" a voice suddenly interrupted, a head poking around the door. "Doctor?"

Jack got up immediately, ready for a fight; at least until he saw the person. A small, thin alien woman stood there nervously, shaking slightly at the sight of the three. She was so unimposing that she almost seemed to blend in with the wall, so Jack changed tact and stepped forward as carefully as his could with a reassuring smile. "Hi, I'm Jack."

"I'm Meera," the woman said quietly. "Are you all okay?"

Jack looked around at his motley crew and then eventually nodded. "We're fine, Meera, just a few questions..."

"I know," she said softly. "I'm a doctor specialising in humanoid biology at the Universal Hospital. He asked me to look after you."

Jack frowned. "Who's 'he'?"

"... The Doctor."

Jack's eyes widened, looking back at the Doctor standing there looking very blank. Clearly he had no clue about this. "... Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"When was this?"

"Twelve years ago. He came to my doorstep very distraught. He said that on this day in twelve years at 8:17pm I must go to the Ji'pau alleyway, where I would find eight people collapsed. He asked if I would bring back the three humanoids to a place of safety and treat their injuries. I didn't expect him to be one of them," she finished, glancing at the Doctor still stood there behind Jack.

"Twelve _years _ago?" Jack repeated in disbelief.

"What else did he say?" the Master asked suddenly.

"A message, to you."

"What message?" the Master asked urgently.

"He said... please save me."

"... What?"

"Please save me. That was the message," she said quietly.

Jack and the Master looked at each other, and then at the Doctor still stood there stock still. For a moment there was only silence at least until Jack's phone started vibrating in his pocket. He barely noticed it.

"How do we get to the Proclamation?" he asked the Master suddenly.

"Haxun One has a direct route supply vessel that's granted permission to pass through the barrier," Meera suddenly said quietly. "It might be difficult to get there, though. It's been evacuated."

"Then we steal a ship," Jack said simply.

"Ambitious," the Master muttered.

"Any other option?" Jack asked seriously.

"This planet is under curfew," the Master pointed out. "The space ports will be under high security."

"Then we get through security, simple," Jack said. "How hard can it be?"

The Master sighed and rolled his eyes, as if the question was so stupid he couldn't even be bothered to answer it.

Jack looked at Meera instead. "What's going on here, exactly?"

"The Shadow Proclamation have put us under curfew," Meera muttered. "All the Judoon have stopped being police... They're just standing around, guarding places. Even if a crime happens right in front of them they don't do anything. Nobody goes outside anymore, not even for food. We're too scared. All of our communication to outer worlds is monitored and nobody can leave. The Proclamation has shut all of its doors..."

Jack gazed at her. "How are you for supplies?"

She offered a brief smile. "The Doctor warned me to stock up. I have a month's worth of food."

"Good," Jack said, nodding. "Stay locked up, we're gonna sort this, all right? Thank you for your help."

His phone stopped vibrating, and finally he realised that someone had actually been trying to call him, so he fished out his phone and took a look.

**163 missed calls**

"Oh god!" Jack realised immediately, quickly dialling for Torchwood.

"What?" the Master asked.

"I didn't tell anyone where we were going," he said as the phone rang.

"Calling mummy to let her know where you are?" the Master supposed.

Jack sighed as Martha picked the phone up.

"_Jack! Where the hell are you two?!" _she shrieked.

"Near the Shadow Proclamation," Jack replied. "We're sorting this out."

"_Don't tell me you're with him!"_

"Um, yeah, we are."

"_Jack!"_

"I know, but we're fine, the Doctor's fine. We're both fine."

She sighed, clearly trying to calm herself down. _"For God's sake, Jack. This isn't a good idea."_

"Tell me about it," Jack muttered, glancing at the Master.

"_Can I talk you out of this?"_

"... This isn't my decision."

"_But..."_

"Martha, we'll talk later," Jack interrupted. "I've gotta go."

She sighed again. _"Okay. I hope you know what you're doing."_

"Me too."

"_From everyone here... Please look after the Doctor."_

"I am and I will. Bye."

"_Bye."_

He ended the call, looking back up at the Master.

"Back by nine," the Master supposed. "Have we got to pick up some milk on the way back?"

"Shut up," Jack grated, taking the Doctor's hand. "Quicker we get to the Proclamation the quicker we're done."

* * *

They bid their thank yous and good byes to Meera, who firmly barricaded the door after they left. They emerged out onto a tiny street, completely deserted despite the fact it was 9am when the streets should have been packed with people.

Jack kept his hand firmly in the Doctor's, making sure he kept close as they wandered down the eerie, deserted street. Not a word was exchanged as they followed the signs to the space-port, occasionally ducking and diving around corners and into doorways to avoid any confrontation with the odd group of passer-bys.

It wasn't until they neared the space-port did the Doctor start to react. He began to get very jumpy the closer they got, until they reached the final stretch where at the end of a long road they could see a long line of armed Judoon standing in front of the entrance.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor yelped, panicking at the sight.

"Shut up," the Master grated.

"Not helpful," Jack said in return to the Master. He grabbed the Doctor, pulled him into a doorway and clamped a hand over his mouth as gently as he could.

"Shush, it's okay," Jack assured the Doctor, kissing his forehead. "I'm here, I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. You've gotta stay quiet. Please stay quiet."

"'Kay," the Doctor gasped out, holding onto Jack desperately. Jack continued to hold him, calming him down.

"How exactly were you planning on getting in there?" the Master wondered dryly to Jack suddenly.

"We're ambassadors for Sol," Jack said simply. "We have an appointment with the President of Haxun One."

"And you think that's going to work?"

"They have nothing against us, they're looking for Echo," Jack told him through gritted teeth. "None of us are Echo, so why should they be interested in us?"

"I do love that human positivity you all possess," the Master muttered.

Jack sighed and gave the Doctor one final hug, before taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "We're going to talk up to them, get past, and be on a ship to Haxun One in ten minutes. Ready?"

"Okay," the Doctor croaked. Jack pulled down his sunglasses and ruffled his hair slightly before leading the march to the entrance of the space-port.

As they neared, the Judoon in the line stared at them, their heads moving in sync to follow their path. Jack could feel the Doctor shaking like a leaf beside him; trying desperately to suppress himself.

"Halt!" a Judoon bellowed, stepping out in front of them. "State your business."

"We are ambassadors for Sol, we have an appointment with the Haxun One President," Jack stated clearly.

"Your meeting is cancelled. Return home, Solians," the Judoon replied immediately.

"But we have a meeting," Jack insisted. "We have to be there by 2pm."

"You meeting is cancelled. Return home, Solians," the Judoon repeated.

Jack glanced at the Master. "We _have _to make this meeting, it's extremely important."

"Move along Solians, or be arrested under article 21," the Judoon gruffed.

Jack's eyes widened. "You can't do that."

"This is your final warning."

"But..."

"Restrain them," the Judoon rumbled, and suddenly they were drowned in a crowd of Judoon. Jack immediately lost his grip on the Doctor's hand.

"Jack!" the Doctor yelped.

"Relax, Doc, just a misunderstanding!" Jack said quickly, struggling to see the Doctor through the crowd. When the Judoon finally cleared he saw the Doctor standing there in the grip of three heavy-handed Judoon, shaking very badly, hyperventilating...

"No, no, no, no!" he was screaming, struggling to get free.

"Doc, it's okay!" Jack said urgently, trying to get free of his own Judoon to go to him, but they weren't letting go.

"NO!" the Doctor screamed again at the top of his lungs, pulling again to get free to no avail.

The Judoon completely ignored him. It raised a scanner to run down Jack.

"Humanoid," it read off the scanner. "You have no charges filed against you. You are free to leave."

The Judoon let go of him and immediately Jack bolted to the Doctor, getting a hand in to rest on his friend's arm to try and offer some reassurance. He was shaking so badly Jack's entire arm was shaking with it.

The Judoon scanned the Master next. "You are the Master," the Judoon gruffed.

"Please, autographs later," the Master said insincerely, standing there also restrained by Judoon and looking very bored.

"You are an associate of the Doctor."

"Lucky me."

"You have no charges filed against you. You are free to leave."

The Master was a little surprised at that. "Well, that's a first," he said, and stepped away from the Judoon.

It turned to the Doctor next, scanning him. Almost immediately the scanner bleeped in frenzy.

"You are the Doctor," the Judoon stated. "You are arrested under article 3 for escaping from Volag-noc..."

"What!?" Jack shouted, his eyes wide.

"... You will be escorted to Volag-noc to be detained and severely reprimanded..."

"JACK!" the Doctor screamed.

"When was he in Volag-noc!?" Jack demanded to know, but they were already dragging the Doctor away. Jack ran after them, wrenching the Doctor out of their grip with one strong pull – and then they were running.

The Master was already beside the doors, hacking the keypad to open. As soon as Jack and the Doctor reached them they practically blew off of their hinges and the Master was through.

No words were exchanged as the running began. The Judoon were already on them; their gunshots almost skimming their heads. Even the Master ran through the terminals, over the gates and along fountains through the space-port, seemingly knowing exactly where he was going, and Jack followed with his hand in the Doctor's.

They burst through a final door, and into an airlock. The Master sealed it behind the other two, and then broke the lock as the air pressure evened out.

"What the hell happened to you?" Jack gasped, panting for air as he looked at the Doctor. "When were you in Volag-noc!?"

"What's Volag-noc?" the Doctor asked seriously.

A further barrage of gunfire interrupted any further conversation as the door began to hiss and spark. The air pressure finally evened out and the next door opened, which they all threw themselves through.

The Master shut the door and switched on a light to reveal they had reached a small private spaceship. The Master ran into the cockpit immediately without another word.

"Please tell me if you were in Volag-noc," Jack begged the Doctor, still trying to get some air into his lungs.

"... I don't know what that is. Is that a planet?" the Doctor asked.

"It's a prison planet. Were you ever in a prison?"

"... I don't know."

"The place you woke up in, the first time. Was that a prison?"

"I don't know!"

"Doctor, escaping from Volag-noc is _serious!_ You know what serious means? It means reprimand; it means punishment and discipline... They'll hunt you down, take you back there and you'll be _tortured. _Think again. Were you ever in Volag-noc?"

The Doctor stared at him, his eyes wide. "... I don't remember if that was a prison."

"Okay," Jack breathed, squeezing his arm. "Sorry."

"Okay," the Doctor croaked, staring at the floor.

Jack looked at him, standing there so lost. "We're not going to let them take you, all right?"

"The engine's been stripped," the Master suddenly announced, stepping back through holding his stomach. "There's no chance this thing will fly."

Jack and the Doctor moved to the cockpit, almost falling into a massive hole in the floor. Inside were the engines, clearly stripped as the Master had said.

"Sorry, kids. Adventure's over," the Master said kicking a piece of redundant metal.

"It can't be," Jack breathed. "Can't we fix it?"

"Fix that?" the Master scoffed. "That can't be fixed. It needs new parts and hefty rewiring."

"I can... I can fix it," the Doctor suddenly said, staring down into the depths.

The Master stared at him. "What, now?"

"I think I can fix it," the Doctor responded, kneeling down to the exposed engines.

"Can we be realistic here for a moment? You can't fix that. Nobody can."

Jack sighed. "We'll just have to fight our way out and find another ship."

"No," the Doctor urged. "I can fix it."

"Deluded," the Master muttered.

"Shut up," Jack grated, looking at the Doctor. "You really think you can fix it?"

"I know what I have to do," the Doctor murmured.

"All right, get to it," Jack said, slapping him in the shoulder. "Master, let's take care of the Judoon."

Jack ran back to the entrance door, picking up a gun from a weapons box to the side with the Master in tow.

"You can't seriously believe he can fix this?" the Master wondered, also picking up a gun.

"I don't know what I believe any more," Jack admitted. "But if he thinks he can do it, it's worth a try."

"You know, we could just hand him over."

Jack shot a fierce look at the Master, raising his primed gun to the Master's head. "You do that and I will kill you."

"Just an idea," the Master said vaguely, rolling his eyes.

Jack sighed through gritted teeth, lowering the gun and opening the airlock. The fire-fight began.


	20. Prisoner of Volag-noc

Chapter 20 – Prisoner of Volag-noc

The Doctor was down in the engines, his brain working overtime. Inside his head was a picture of how the engine could be rewired to work, and a list of actions of what to do. He carried every action out, one at a time, even through the sound of gunfire metres away from him. That didn't even matter. The world was on mute as he concentrated solely on getting the engines to work, to get away from the Judoon...

His head was hurting quite badly, along with the rest of his body from the strain of the run. He felt a little dizzy and sick, but he _had _to finish this so he persisted on.

It took a good few minutes, but finally the Doctor reached the final action on his list. He completed it, and suddenly the engines began to hum.

* * *

Jack and the Master both felt the judder beneath their feet as the engines started.

The Master looked at Jack in disbelief. "That's not possible!"

"Retreat!" Jack yelled, backing up through the airlock again and slamming his palm on the lock as the Master got through. Leaving several dead Judoon behind them the Master sealed it with his laser screwdriver and they both turned to the cockpit.

The Doctor stepped out of the door, a trickle of blood running down from his nose to his mouth. He looked like he had no idea what was going on, staring through them both blankly...

"Fixed it," he said with a dazed smile, and then abruptly collapsed.

Jack yelled in alarm and ran forward, but the Doctor was already having some kind of seizure.

"What the hell!?" Jack gasped, cradling the Doctor in his arms. "Master!"

"I told you, that wasn't a nightmare. I've seen this before. His brain, it's started collapsing," the Master muttered.

"Where have you seen it!?"

The Master avoided his gaze, as he pushed Jack back, placing his hands on the Doctor's temples. "When I've done this to other people."

"Wha-"

"We need to get to the Shadow Proclamation and find out how to fix this, or he will die," the Master interrupted smoothly.

"How long have we got?" Jack asked quickly.

The Master drew away from the Doctor, wincing as he looked at Jack. "It's too late for anything we can do. We've got 48 hours maximum, at a guess."

"We've gotta get to the Proclamation," Jack realised. "Doc! Doctor!"

"Hold on," the Master urged, placing his fingers back on the Doctor's temples again. It took a good few seconds, but the Doctor eventually stopped haemorrhaging and just lay there, supine. Jack took a firm hold of him again, holding him tightly. He didn't wake up.

Without a word the Master ran to the cockpit. Then with a jolt and a grunt, the spaceship was on the move.

* * *

Tchan was terrified.

He'd been loaded into a prisoner transport vessel and immediately found himself surrounded by the worst the universe had to offer. Hard criminals covered in tattoos and scars; murderers, drug dealers, traffickers of all kind and everything in-between. He had only ever watched this on TV, judging from afar, being a voice of the masses condemning these people. Sitting there eating grockles with his parents in their tiny two-bedroomed flat in the cheapest part of Haxun One he had always been unable to comprehend how those people had got there. What had they done in their lives to get themselves to that point? How could they conceive of taking a life? What motivated them to do that?

Never in his wildest dreams had he ever thought he'd be one of them.

The transport vessel was packed. Despite the fact they were all restrained he was only two inches away from a very threatening-looking Chizion with a mohawk and ten-thousand piercings. So for the entire trip he tried to stare at the floor and not get involved in their verbal fighting.

Getting out was the worst part. Everything was automated. He had to wait on his mark, before a beep sounded and he shuffled through to be processed and tagged accordingly. Then as quick as he was in, he was shoved out into a corridor filled with other prisoners.

"Hey, a kid," one growled, looking at Tchan and smiling a horrible, ugly smile. Immediately every prisoner turned and stared at him. Then they began to advance towards him.

Tchan wasted no time in turning and running for his life.

"Aww, come back!" the alien yelled after him, laughing.

Tchan ran down a side corridor with absolutely no idea where it led. He was so nervous that he kept glancing over his shoulder, terrified that they'd follow him...

He ran into someone coming the other way, sending him flying backwards onto the floor.

"I'm sorry!" Tchan squeaked, not even daring to look at the person he'd bumped into for fear of death.

"You don't look like the usual type that ends up here."

Tchan looked up at the cool, calm voice; coming face-to-face with a tall, slim blond-haired humanoid. He was curiously well-presented, his prisoner clothes ironed and tidy, and his hair combed neatly to a parting. He had a pair of glasses on that were slightly scuffed and taped up in the middle, but even the tape was the same perfectness of alignment as everything else on the man.

For some reason, Tchan immediately felt like he could trust him.

"... There's been a mistake, I'm not meant to be here," Tchan gabbled out.

The man laughed – a joyful, genuine laugh. "Yes, I know the story. What did they tell you you were in for?" he asked.

"... I don't know."

"They must have told you."

"They said... They said terrorism but I didn't, I would never..."

The man chuckled slightly. "Yes, I can see you're not the terrorist type. Let me hazard a guess. You saw something the Proclamation did and they arrested you immediately, told you that you were a terrorist and brought you here?"

Tchan swallowed. "Yeah..."

The man smiled reassuringly. "Do not worry. There are plenty of people like you here."

"... What?"

"Let me show you around, and you can see for yourself."

The man gave him a hand up to his feet. "I'm Braxiatel. What's your name?"

"... Tchan."

"Nice to meet you, Tchan. Stick with me."

* * *

Tchan's impromptu new friend took him on a guided tour of Volag-noc. There were absolutely no guards around – the prisoners just seemed to have complete free roam of the place. Braxiatel took him down a few wings and corridors; some doors open, and some closed.

They passed through a particularly narrow corridor, Tchan struggling to keep up with Braxiatel.

"Keep your arms in down here," Braxiatel warned, but didn't say why.

They passed through a particularly rowdy area, and suddenly Tchan's arm was grabbed. He yelped in surprise as he suddenly found himself up against the bars, held tightly in place as a low, gruff voice came in his ear...

"Hey kid, wanna 'elp out poor old G'neek?"

"What!?" Tchan practically squeaked.

"Get the key to me cell door, kid."

"What!? I can't..."

"I'll get ya sweets, kid."

"I don't... I don't want any sweets..."

"How 'bout some drugs?"

"G'neek." Braxiatel was back, and Tchan felt the _relief_ flooding through him as Braxiatel strolled towards them. "Would you like to put down my friend?"

G'neek let go immediately, and Tchan ran to Braxiatel's side. "Sorry, Braxiatel," he gruffed.

"Don't do that again, G'neek," Braxiatel said seriously, his eyes gazing into G'neek's.

"I won't, Braxiatel," he said, and shrank back into the shadows as quickly as he had come.

Braxiatel nodded. "C'mon, Tchan."

Tchan hastily followed Braxiatel, sticking firmly to his side this time.

"Don't bother to pay attention to the ones like that. We have free roam here, but this is still a prison. The worse people in the universe have got to go somewhere, I suppose," Braxiatel told him.

"Yeah... Where are the guards? I thought this place would have loads."

"Gone. They left us all here," Braxiatel told him. "There's not a single guard left on this planet, and the automated systems just keeps bringing in the new people."

"Why don't you just leave?" Tchan wondered.

"Nowhere to go. Do _you _have anywhere to go?" Braxiatel pointed out.

"... Oh," Tchan realised dully, suddenly feeling so incredibly alone. He hadn't even thought about that until now. He _really _had nowhere to go. Maybe his parents were still alive? Maybe they'd escaped from the Proclamation?

_Escaped from the Proclamation?_

The insanity of that sentence was astounding. The Shadow Proclamation were the police, they took care of the universe. They stopped all the wrongdoers and protected people like him. Didn't they?

… No, not anymore.

They didn't speak for a while as Braxiatel took him through several more corridors, eventually reaching a rather ominous-looking door apart from the others – heavily barricaded and bright red.

Braxiatel made to move past it, but Tchan stopped him.

"What's in there?" he asked, pointing at the door.

Braxiatel looked back at the door, suddenly looking very sombre. "We call it the Screaming Souls Block."

"Why?"

"It's solitary for the worst criminals this universe had to offer, category seven offenders. No contact. Someone goes in there, first they fight. Then they're angry. Then they cry. Then they scream. And then there's just silence. Complete silence, from then until the bodies are carried out. The lucky die of loneliness. The unlucky survive long enough to lose their minds. We had a Lucan in here once, you know, the telepathic types? He had to move further down the block. He said all he could hear were thousands of souls, screaming. He couldn't stand it."

Tchan's eyes widened. "But they can't do that. Article 59 and species rights..."

"Do you really think they care?"

"They're the Shadow Proclamation. They have to."

Braxiatel considered him for a moment, his face completely sombre. "I know you don't believe that anymore."

Tchan swallowed, and eventually nodded. Just once. "Can't we get them out?" he asked, staring at the impenetrable door.

"There is nothing but the dead in there," was all Braxiatel replied, before turning and beckoning Tchan to follow him again. "We have no place to bury them."

They moved on through the endless corridors until they eventually came across a gathering of aliens playing board games together communally. They were laughing and chatting happily, taking Tchan a little by surprise.

"Do get a chair," Braxiatel invited, gesturing to a line of chairs in the corner. Tchan did so, pulling up a seat. "Everyone, this is Tchan," Braxiatel told the others. "He's just arrived."

"Hello!" the cheery crowd chorused together. They couldn't have been less threatening if they tried, which let Tchan relax slightly.

"What are you supposed to be in for, then?" a pink-haired alien woman asked, smiling gently.

"Terrorism," Tchan muttered.

"Oh, really? Me too," a grey-skinned alien from the corner said, smiling.

"I didn't do it," Tchan said quickly.

"We know, love," an older Klixan said gently from the side with a smile. "None of us did anything wrong."

"It's that damn..." - sniff - "... Proclamation y'see," a Garoot told him, wiping at his nose about every three seconds. "Think they can..." - sniff - "... get away with it."

"What happened to you?" the pink-haired woman asked, resting a soft hand on his.

Tchan swallowed. "They... they wiped out my planet. I think I'm the only one left."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, squeezing his hand.

"Why did they do that?" Tchan croaked.

"Rumour has it they're scared," a green man said, conspiratorial.

"Scared of what?"

"Have you heard of Echo?" the green man asked.

"No..."

"Not too happy with them. Echo's killing the entire Proclamation, one by one, so I hear. They're trying to find Echo so they can survive."

"Who'd want to kill the Proclamation?" Tchan wondered. "They protect us... Well, they _used _to protect us."

"Not lately," the green man said. "Got themselves all tangled up with something pretty bad and are now taking their liberties of destroying entire planets and hiding the evidence by sticking the witnesses in Volag-noc – witnesses like you, like most of us. If you ask me, Echo's our saving grace."

"But who's Echo?"

"No one knows."

Tchan thought about that for a moment. "When my planet got destroyed there was this really quiet person who seemed to know the Judoon were about to attack. Everyone started dying and they just ran across the buildings... They saved my life."

The green man grinned. "Were they wearing a black cloak?"

"Yeah..."

"Never spoke a word?"

"Yeah..."

"You met Echo."

Tchan looked around at them all, stunned. "Really?"

"They say Echo flies like a chinar, runs like a g'jok and strikes like a cobra," the grey man in the corner suddenly said.

"And long may they live," the green man said with a smile.

Tchan nodded, his eyes disconnecting from the group to look around. Then he noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Braxiatel?" he asked.

"He doesn't tend to stick around," the pink-haired woman said.

"Why not?"

"Braxiatel is busy," she explained. "He spends all of his time sorting out the prison."

"He seems nice."

"Oh, he is."

"What did the Proclamation make up to put him in here?"

The group all glanced at each other. "He's been here for fifty years," the pink-haired woman said, dodging the question.

"So, what?"

"He's here because he actually did something," she clarified.

Tchan blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Didn't you wonder why every criminal obeys him? They're scared of him."

"But... Why?"

"Every new batch of prisoners that arrives, he saves our type and keeps them safe. Then he picks the biggest of the bad ones and kills him, just by touching their heads. The others cave."

Tchan's breath caught in his throat. "What did he do to get here?"

The group all looked at the pink-haired woman, as if daring her to say it. She leant forward, took a breath, and whispered just one word.

"... Genocide."

* * *

**A/N:** I'm clapping you if you've noticed the ONE REALLY IMPORTANT DETAIL THERE :o

I shall review reply! Gimme your best theories. Honestly. I really want to know if anyone's tied it all together yet :D


	21. Fugitives

**A/N: **Wasn't that exciting! :D Review reply, I mean. Of course. What else?

Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, whump.

* * *

Chapter 21 - Fugitives

The stolen spaceship touched down on Haxun One.

The Master was out first, yawning and stretching slightly in the mid-afternoon sunshine. Jack came out next, supporting a now dazed Doctor with an arm around his shoulders.

"Doc," he urged.

"Yeah..." the Doctor muttered.

"We're on Haxun One, get your best face on," he said as positively as he could.

"I'm so tired," the Doctor whined.

"I know, but we'll be at the Proclamation soon. You can sleep on the supply vessel. We've gotta keep up the pretence until then."

"Okay," the Doctor croaked, a little bit of blood trickling from his nose. Jack swallowed back his panic and despair at the sight of him and wiped at it with a tissue. He then looked at the Master pleadingly.

"I can't do any more," the Master said seriously.

Jack sighed quietly to himself. "Okay. C'mon, Doctor."

Together they left the landing bay to a corridor. It was very quiet. This was the space-port, usually highly busy and chock-full of passengers, but there was no one in sight. It stank to high-heaven though.

"Where is everyone?" Jack asked seriously, but before the Master could reply they turned a corner, and it quickly became apparent where everyone was and what the smell.

The waiting lounge was absolutely covered with dead bodies.

Jack swore and quickly held the Doctor against him so he wouldn't see the amount of dead aliens on the floor. There were hundreds as far as the eye could see, the floors and walls stained with read and burns from weapon discharge. The Master held his nose, looking around the carnage and travesty of life with mild interest.

"Jack, what's going on...?" the Doctor muttered.

"Wish I knew," Jack croaked in response, unable to take his eyes off of it.

"This was the Judoon," the Master announced, looking at the scorched walls. "The marks are indubitable."

"You're kidding," Jack said. "The Proclamation did this?"

"Yep," the Master responded, stepping over the bodies to get to the entrance of the space-port. There were even more there.

"Why the hell would they do this!?"

The Master didn't respond, moving out of the space-port into the street. The ground was covered.

"Fuck," Jack muttered, staring across the horizon where he could see nothing but bodies. "I thought they evacuated this place!?"

"Evacuted... Massacred, bit of a synonym," was all the Master responded.

A large holo-screen on the side of one of the bodies burst into life where a well-dressed holographic woman addressed them. "_Citizen information,"_ she began in a smooth, calm voice. _"This is today's round-up. The universal news for space district 1-2 is as follows._

"_The Proclamation have extended their mauve alert as two more of their number die in suspicious circumstances, believed to be the work of the criminal only know as 'Echo'. Secondarily, the Proclamation have also released a statement that the evacuation of Haxun One was an unsuccessful attempt to find Echo, and that all Haxun One citizens are in a secure location and should not be contacted by outsiders for their protection. A further mauve alert issued by the Proclamation asks all citizens to be on the lookout for the fugitives pictured..."_

"That'll be us, then," the Master muttered just before the pictures came up.

"_They are know by the names the Master, Jack Harkness and the Doctor. They are described as category six prisoners and escapees from Volag-noc."_

"I win," the Master said gleefully.

"_If seen, do not approach, as they are considered extremely dangerous. Contact the Proclamation immediately. The Proclamation insists the two mauve alerts are unrelated. In other news, Queen Chine of Libia visited the Universal Hospital today to a joyful reception..."_

"Liars," Jack grated. "They've massacred an entire planet. Just to find Echo. Echo's killing the Proclamation and now the Proclamation are doing... _this _to find Echo."

"Nobody likes it when their business fails," the Master supposed. "Kill a planet to kill the one person that's affecting them."

"_... The weather today will be sunny, with short sharp showers over regions 6 and 7 between the hours of 4pm and 7pm. The weekly lottery draws are held tonight, so make sure to get your ticket! And that's the end of the news, have a good day."_

The holographic screen blipped off.

The Master looked at the Doctor, still huddled into Jack, deathly pale and bleeding slightly out of one ear. "Let's get to that supply vessel," he stated. For a fleeting moment, Jack thought he might actually be a little worried.

* * *

On a planet of dead it wasn't difficult getting to the supply vessel Meera had told them about.

They boarded it easily. The Master got them on the move as Jack got the Doctor comfortable in amongst some blankets he'd found wrapped up in the corner. The Doctor fell asleep immediately in the makeshift bed. He was getting worse and worse.

"I don't get it, how does the Doctor fit into this? This Echo thing?" Jack asked seriously, staring at the Doctor.

"No idea. Clearly he's connected to Echo in some way. Someone _really _doesn't like him."

"Yeah, the Proclamation," Jack said seriously.

"Oh no, they don't do this kind of thing of their own free will. This is bigger than that. Someone's doing something to them and calling the shots; getting them all worked up. Don't you remember a year ago when the Proclamation imprisoned him and his family and got him tortured to near insanity? Somebody got a kick out of making them do that."

"Somebody's manipulating them?"

"Looks like it."

"You?" Jack wondered seriously.

"I wish," the Master responded as the cockpit started sounding an alert. "Controlling the Proclamation; that's a mean feat. I have a strange sort of admiration, I'll admit."

Jack sighed at that, getting up to go to the cockpit to check the alert. The Master stayed there, staring at the Doctor. The one he'd always claimed as his greatest enemy – lying there dying slowly inside.

It was strange. The Master liked to make the Doctor's life a misery, but time and time again the opportunity had arisen to kill him permanently, yet the Master had never taken it. Every time he had the chance he ended up saving his life. Rose had got it right, all those years ago, though he'd never admit to it.

"_You're really scared of him dyin', aren't you? You'll do your best to make him suffer and break him enough to shoot me, but you won't let him die."_

He sighed, taking bottle of water from an open crate, opening it, and holding it up for the Doctor to drink. He only just about swallowed it.

"Master!" Jack suddenly yelled from the cockpit. The Master got up and strolled leisurely to him, finding Jack in a panic.

"It's the Proclamation, they're on us," he grated.

"How!?" the Master exclaimed, checking the screen. There were about twenty Judoon ships heading straight towards them...

Jack suddenly felt very cold. "He's... The Doctor's got a tracker in him. We found it in a scan."

The Master's eyes widened, looking straight at him. "Why didn't you tell me there was a tracker!?"

"I didn't think... I... Look, let's just run!" Jack said quickly, looking over the controls for anything that resembled a 'Go Faster' button.

"We can't!" the Master yelped. Jack had never seen him so frantic. "This is a supply vessel, we can't outrun them!"

"We're dead," Jack realised.

"Shush!" the Master implored, trying to think. "Right, this doesn't have thermals. If we can get the tracker out and jettison it in an escape pod that could be a good enough diversion for us to get to the Proclamation."

"No, we can't get it out, it's fused to his spinal cord..."

"Get me a knife."

"You'll end up killing him!"

"It's risking that or we'll _all _die anyway! Now _get me a knife!"_ the Master roared.

Suddenly Jack realised he didn't have a choice as the Master was already running back to the Doctor, the cockpit still wailing its alerts as the Judoon closed in. Jack ran to the nearest medical kit and found a knife that was rusted to death. He cleaned it as best he could and reached the Master just as he put his hands on his temples to put the Doctor completely under.

"You got any idea what you're doing?" Jack asked seriously, handing him the knife.

"Vaguely," the Master muttered, gently pulling the Doctor up and gesturing for Jack to help him get off the Doctor's cardigan and shirt. Jack did so, trying to ignore blood falling from his right tear duct.

"Hold his head completely still," the Master ordered.

"Can't believe I'm doing this," Jack muttered, doing what the Master asked.

There was a brief pause as the Master prepared himself, and then he dug in the knife. Blood ran out immediately, dripping down onto the floor. Jack wasn't even breathing, just sitting there utterly paralysed.

Then the Master got even deeper. Suddenly Jack couldn't watch; snapping his eyes shut as he kept holding onto the Doctor's head firmly. He tried to block out the far too familiar sound of squirting blood but he could see it even with his eyes closed.

"Okay, I'm in," the Master murmured. "Keep him absolutely still."

Jack nodded, still keeping his eyes firmly shut.

"Come on..."the Master mumbled.

Suddenly the ship screeched an alert as they were thrown to the left. The Master only just managed to get the knife out in time.

"We've been hit!" Jack realised, checking the Doctor before getting up to go to the cockpit.

"No! Stay here!" the Master shouted, holding up a bloody hand with the knife in it. "There's nothing else we can do!"

"They're attacking us! Why the _hell_ are they attacking us!?"

"Maybe they want us _dead!?" _the Master yelled back, exasperated. "Hold his head, _now!"_

Jack ran back and held the Doctor's head in place, pumped so full of adrenaline he couldn't shut his eyes. He watched, transfixed as the Master plunged the knife into the Doctor's neck again and twisted. The Doctor reacted violently, more blood on the floor and out of his mouth.

"What the _fuck_ are you doing!?" Jack screamed.

"Keep him still!"

"You're _killing_ him!"

"I'm saving his life! Keep him _still!"_

They were thrown again. The cockpit was blaring alarms and they were on fire. A piece of the ship narrowly missed Jack as it crashed to the floor.

"How much longer!?"

"Not long!"

The Master plunged in the knife, again, closed his eyes, and moved his hand upwards. The Doctor reacted again, the floor increasingly becoming red. Then the Master plunged his hand in again and finally pulled out the small black chip.

"Get him to the escape pod!" the Master yelled, throwing the chip to the floor.

Jack grabbed the bleeding Doctor, dodging the debris to get to the escape pod. He practically fell into it, curling up as best he could as he tried desperately to stop the Doctor bleeding.

The Master got in and initiated the sequence to the Proclamation. The rickety, old, clapped-out escape pod jolted a little, and began to fly shakily towards the Proclamation at quite a considerable speed. Jack looked out the rear window just in time to see the supply shop explode, the blast alone nearly destroying the escape pod. The force threw them forward even faster towards the Proclamation, spiralling out of control until the Master managed to gain control and stabilise them just in time for the pod to smash into a landing dock wall.


	22. Dear Diary 5

**A/N: **This is REALLY LONG (that's what Jack said *giggle giggle*).

I have a prescription here for completely random fluff?

* * *

Chapter 22 – Dear Diary 5

**31****st**** March 2010 (Earth time) Leah – 1 year, 5 months old**

_Dear diary,_

_My birthday today! The Doctor took me on a trip out, he said he'd been saving this one for a while..._

* * *

"Rose," the Doctor's voice whispered in her ear, gentle hands brushing her hair back from her face. She groaned and batted the hand away, turning over and repositioning herself.

The Doctor sighed and lightly hit her shoulder. "Oi, Rose," he said more firmly.

"Go 'way," she muttered.

"I'm trying to wake you up gently and lovingly and romantically here," the Doctor protested.

"Gemme coffee."

"I've _got_ you coffee," he insisted. "Nescafé Azera with one spoon of coffee and one spoonful of demerara sugar, presented in your pink flower mug with the stripy saucer that doesn't match. There are also three slices of bread smeared to death with Tesco brand strawberry jam and two pain au chocolat on individual plates, all served on the plastic tray which has the confused cartoon cow looking at you like you've just got the first question wrong on Millionaire. Your words."

She frowned a little, opening her eyes to see him standing in front of her in his pyjamas, holding exactly what he'd said. It took her a moment to process. It was a _perfect_ assembly of her _perfect_ breakfast.

"... Okay, what d'you want?" she asked seriously, staring at him.

"Nothing!" he insisted. "Now sit up so I can give you the tray.

"Seriously," she said, not sitting up. "You want somethin'."

He sighed. "You have _no _idea what day it is today, do you?"

"What?"

"You _really_ don't know what today is?"

"No...? Oh god!" she gasped, sitting straight up. "It's our first sex anniversary!"

"No..."

"First date anniversary?"

"No..."

"First kiss anniversary""

"No..."

"When-we-met anniversary?"

"We don't even _celebrate _an anniversary!" he said seriously.

"All right, all right!" She thought some more. "It's umm... Mother's Day?"

"Rose..."

"Partner's Day. Is that a thing?"

"No."

"Your thing? Your Gallifreyan thing?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Anmers-Tonastide?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah!"

"No."

She sighed. "Okay. I give up. What is it?"

"It's your _birthday."_

Her eyes shot wide open. "What? Oh."

"Now take the tray," he said seriously, putting it on her lap. "Meet me in the console room in half an hour. Don't get changed and don't put on any make-up."

She looked at him, frowning. "What?"

"Just do it!" he insisted, and ran out of the door.

* * *

She got to the console room half an hour later, still in her comfy oversized pyjamas and no make-up on as promised. There she saw the Doctor, also still in his pyjamas, holding a backpack and knelt next to Leah. The moment he realised she was there he looked up and beamed.

"Happy birthday, mummy!" he said, grinning.

Leah ran forward immediately. "My pwesen', Mummy," Leah said, holding out a bunch of paper. Rose took them, rifling through.

"Oh, they're drawings!" Rose exclaimed, looking at each one in turn. "Beautiful drawings of... of... umm.. What are they of exactly?"

"Fowers," Leah replied indignantly.

"Oh! Of course they are," Rose said seriously. "Thank you, Leah."

"You're welcam," she replied with a winning smile.

The Doctor just beamed and threw the lever to bring the TARDIS to land. "First stop, Torchwood!" he declared as they landed surprisingly smoothly.

Rose blinked, looking down at herself in horror. "What!? But I'm not..."

"Relax!" the Doctor insisted, picking up Leah in both arms holding her up to her mother. "Bye Leah! See you tomorrow!" he prompted, and still slightly confused, Rose kissed and hugged the little girl good bye. The Doctor whisked her away to the TARDIS doors where Jack was already waiting.

"Bye bye, have fun with Uncle Jack," the Doctor said to her with many kisses all over her face. "Love you."

"Bye bye Dadda an' Mamma," she said sweetly as the Doctor handed Leah and the backpack over to Jack.

"Remember Jack..." the Doctor began seriously in a low voice.

"I know, I know. One tiny scratch or bruise or any hint of sadness on her little adorable face and I'm a pancake," Jack assured him. "A very flat, lemon meringue pancake."

"Good, just checking," the Doctor insisted.

"Have fun, bye Mommy and Daddy!" Jack said, grinning and backing out of the doorway. The Doctor shut it, and ran to the console once more.

"What are we doing?" Rose asked seriously, folding her arms.

"Does the word 'surprise' mean nothing to you?"

"You never said the word surprise," she pointed out.

He rolled his eyes. "Well okay," was all he said, and they landed. The Doctor put his hands over her eyes and kept them in place until they were outside, before he drew them back and yelled, "SURPRISE!" enthusiastically.

Rose stared at the sight, her jaw agape. In front of her were some booths which hordes of aliens were filtering through, behind which was a _massive_ amusement park. There were roller-coasters, stands, amusements, brightly coloured buildings and the ground was even made of foam... It was the best amusement park she'd ever seen.

"Been saving this one," the Doctor admitted, taking her hand. "I want to bring Leah here when she's a bit older. Come on!"

"Wait!" Rose yelped, pulling him to a stop. "I'm in pyjamas!"

The Doctor looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "The ground is made of foam, do you really think that matters?"

"But I'm not even..."

"Stop worrying," he chastised.

"I can't go out without make up!" she yelped.

The Doctor sighed, turning her to him with his hands on her arms. "Rose, you are beautiful. Today I want to show everyone how lucky I am to have you. By you, I mean plain old you. The you I see when I wake up – barefaced, in pyjamas and beautiful. Just try it. Please?"

She looked at him, standing there so sincere. "... Okay," she muttered, but it really didn't feel like a good idea at all.

* * *

Rose swore she could feel everyone staring at her as the Doctor took her through the entrance booths. She felt like a royal idiot, standing there in her oversized Snoopy t-shirt, stripy trousers and big doggy bed-socks. The Doctor was also still in his pyjamas; a black geeky t-shirt she'd got him for his birthday last year and shorts with nothing on his feet.

"Two for the unlimited ticket, please," the Doctor said to the attendant.

"Names and species?"

"I'm the Doctor, I'm a Time Lord, and this is Rose Tyler, a Human Solian."

"Doctor?" a voice suddenly said from the side, and a dark blue alien in a smart business suit appeared.

"Kliff!" the Doctor realised, bowing courteously. "Still running the place, then?"

"It's a living," Kliff replied, laughing. "Should I be worried you've turned up? I've not got another invasion on my hands, have I?"

"Oh no, strictly pleasure today, Kliff," the Doctor told him, grinning. "This is Rose, my partner," he continued, gesturing to her as she stood there, staring wide-eyed at the Doctor.

"Oh!" Kliff realised, taking her hand and kissing it . "Pleasure, ma'am. Might I say how beautiful she is, Doctor? I've always found Solians particularly alluring."

Rose blushed, turning as red as her name suggested.

"Oi, watch it, Kliff," the Doctor joked, pulling Rose closer to him.

"I was merely complementing," Kliff said, smiling innocently. "Don't worry about a ticket, you are my VIPs. Please, enjoy! I must be be going."

"Thank you," the Doctor said with a smile, bowing again as Kliff left. The attendant opened the gate, and they stepped inside the amusement park.

"You told him didn't you?" Rose asked seriously.

"Told him what?"

"To say that, to make me feel better."

The Doctor sighed. "Y'see? This is why we're doing this. Your self esteem needs a lot of work. You're beautiful just the way you are but you need to be happier with yourself, because you just can't see that."

He leant forward and kissed her with nothing held back.

"Now," he continued with a beaming smile, squeezing her arm. "What do _you_ want to do first?"

* * *

It was a hot day, so they hit the water slides first.

"Oh no, oh no," Rose whined as the flume started going up a steep incline. "No, no, no!" She sought out his hand, holding it in a death grip. "Oh god!"

The Doctor laughed.

"Stop laughin'!" she yelped, closing her eyes. "I hate this bit!"

He just laughed again as they reached the top, and began to tilt over the cliff-dive incline...

"We're gonna die!" Rose screamed, throwing herself on him and clinging on for dear life. "Oh god! No... no..." her voice was steadily raising in pitch as they began to move forward, ready to start the descent... "No... no... no... NO... NO..."

They hit the descent.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed.

They hurtled down extremely fast, Rose constantly screaming as the Doctor just laughed his head off at the human woman currently clinging to him as though he were a rock in a storm. When they hit the bottom the water cascaded onto them both; soaking them from head to toe.

As they slowed to stop, Rose was just panting, utterly rigid. She refused to let go of him, and the Doctor had to carry them both out of the flume where she still refused to let go for several minutes.

* * *

"No, go left! Go left! No.. Where are you... That's not left!" Rose yelled from the tower in the centre of the maze down to the Doctor lost in the hedges below.

"It's my left!" he yelled back up.

"I meant _my_ left!"

"You're making me even _more_ lost!"

"I thought you had an impeccable sense of direction, anyway?"

"When did I ever say that?"

"When you stubbed your toe on the TARDIS and went off into one of your Time Lord superiority rants!"

"... No, I didn't," he said guiltily.

"Just go left, yeah?"

"Your left?"

"No, _my _left!"

"That's what I said!"

Rose sighed. "Right, find your own way out!"

"Rose!" he wailed.

"See you in six hours!" she yelled down, and disappeared from view.

"Rose! I love you! Help me!" he protested. "Rose! ROSE!"

She appeared in view again, grinning cheekily. "Your left!" she shouted.

* * *

"Ahhh! Ahhh!"

They were in the zero gravity chamber, the Doctor moving gracefully around as Rose bounced in a very undignified manner from padded surface to padded surface, but she was laughing in joy.

"Stop me, stop me!" she begged in a flurry of giggles as she floated upside-down towards the Doctor. He did so, and managed to turn her the right way up.

"Want to stop?" he wondered.

"No!" she said quickly. "This is amazin'!"

He laughed, keeping a hold of her. "How about a push?"

"Yes!" she cried in delight, but before he could an automated voice came from the computer.

"_Your picture will be taken in ten seconds! Please move into the centre of the pod and look at the red light!"_

"Oh god!" Rose realised. "I forgot that!"

The Doctor pushed them both towards the centre of pod. "Just need a handhold," he said, reaching for it without looking.

He missed, and resultant force of his arm flipped them both upside down.

"Ah!" Rose yelped. "I'm going head-first into the floor!"

"Hang on!"

The picture was taken five seconds later; a very undignified sight of the Doctor struggling in mid-air, with Rose hanging upside-down halfway through a scream of terror.

* * *

They reached the Big Wheel. It was the crowning glory of the park; a giant wheel in the centre of the park with several sections of prizes for it to land on. There were several segments – VIP tickets to the park, free passes for space travel for a year, a box of chocolates, a holiday to Cania Minor, a piece of rock, even an extremely thin segment that seemed impossible to land on for a money prize of one billion credits, and everything in-between. But of course, Rose wasn't interested in any of that.

"That is the _biggest _teddy bear I have _ever _seen."

The Doctor followed her gaze to a giant stuff bear, about the size of Rose herself. Then he looked at Rose, whose eyes seemed to have glazed over into the expression now familiar to him, the expression that said, 'I _really _want that, if I could have that, I think I could give up any other dream I've ever had and die completely happy'.

"We have a spin," he told her. "You never know."

The attendant spun the wheel. When no one was looking the Doctor fumbled inside his shorts for the sonic screwdriver, hiding it behind his back. He hit the button as the wheel began to slow – just a flash – and it stopped, right on the teddy bear.

"Oh my god!" she realised, astounded.

"Must be your lucky day!" the Doctor enthused, hiding the sonic quickly.

The attendant handed over the ginormous teddy bear with sentiments of congratulations, which Rose struggled to even get her arms around.

The Doctor looked at her struggling with the bear for a moment, struggling not to laugh. "How about we drop him in the TARDIS and go get a bite to eat in the pub?"

"Okay!" she yelled, far too full of joy to care she was shouting.

* * *

Rose had been absolutely fascinated by all of the alien drinks at the pub. By the time it got to 10pm she had taken him to the karaoke bar, totally enthused by the whole thing.

"Am shooo good," she told him, struggling to form syllables.

"You're drunk, Rose Tyler," he said seriously.

"Of coursh am, ish ma birthsday," she insisted, giggling. "Pleeeeash? Karry-key?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Okay, what do you want to sing?"

"Shummer Niesh," she replied instantly.

The Doctor looked at the DJ. "Have you got Summer Nights? From Sol 3?"

The DJ checked his machine. "Yep!" he said, and gestured to the stage.

The Doctor waved at Rose. "Have fun!"

Rose rolled her eyes and took his hand. "You're shingin' too."

"Oh?" he wondered, but before that had a chance to process he suddenly found himself on stage."... Wait, what?"

"I needa guy to shing bitsh!" she insisted, handing him a microphone.

"But..."

It was too late. The music started.

"Umm... Summer loving, had me a blast..." the Doctor began, not quite sure what he was doing.

Rose beamed at him. "Shummer lovin', happen sho fasht!"

"I met a girl, crazy for me..."

"Metta boy, coot askan beee!" she sang happily.

"Summer days, driftin' away, to uh!" they both sang. "Oh those summer nights!"

"Uh well-a well-a well-a _huh!_ Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far?" the Doctor sang, starting to get slightly more into it now.

"Tell me more, tell.. um... like doesh 'e 'ave a car?" Rose sang in response, barely able to stand up now she was so blindly drunk.

"Doo-doo!" the Doctor sang out, laughing at her.

"Uh huh!" she shouted enthusiastically back.

"Doo-doo!"

"Uh huh!"

"Doo-doo!"

"Uh huh!"

"Doo-doo doo doo-doo!"

* * *

When they finally got back to the TARDIS, it was nearly midnight.

They stripped first and got their clothes in the washing machine. Within two seconds they were done, washed, warm and comfy ready for bed. Rose was so exhausted she was practically falling asleep on him, but he had one more thing to show her. He took her to the console room and sat her down on the chair, turning the monitor to her.

"You'll love this," he said, smiling. "She got a connection about a month ago and you weren't here, so I asked her to record a message for you."

Rose stared at him for a moment, her inebriated head struggling to understand. "What?"

He hit play, and Jackie appeared on the screen. Rose gasped.

"_Happy birthday, sweetheart! I hope muggins there gives you everythin' you want and he doesn't mess thing up like usual. Cos remember you only deserve the best. He should be waitin' on ya 'and and foot! So make sure you're havin' a lot of fun, I hope Leah's okay and everythin'. I wish I could be there."_

Jackie suddenly stopped, sniffing slightly and carefully wiping her eyes.

"_Look at me, gone all teary. Bloody 'ell. Anyway, we're all fine here, Pete and Tony say happy birthday too. I love you, be happy, and I 'ope I see you next time. I miss you, sweetheart."_

The message ended, and the Doctor looked at Rose expecting to see a huge, cheek-breaking smile... But she was crying instead.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" he asked quickly, making to hug her.

She immediately batted his hand away and jumped to her feet, furious. "What the hell did you do that for!?" she yelled, suddenly _very_ able to talk soberly.

The Doctor was taken aback. "I thought..."

"You thought you'd remind me I can't even have a conversation with my own mum anymore!?"

"... I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"Oh, shut up you stupid insensitive alien!" she screamed, and ran out of the door.

* * *

He found her crying in their bedroom, hugging the bear he'd won at the fairground for her. It broke his hearts to see her crying.

He stepped in front of her, holding a mug of hot chocolate and an éclair. "Truce?" he wondered, offering a shy smile.

She sighed, beckoning for him to sit down next to her as she took a sip.

He did so, looking at her face. "Please don't cry," he muttered, reaching out to wipe a falling tear for her cheek.

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to," she sobbed out, sipping at the hot chocolate.

He couldn't help but laugh at that, pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead. "Sorry, I've just messed this right up haven't I? I meant to make today brilliant."

"Not your fault," she told him. "Mine. I'm sorry. I didn't mean those things. You're not a stupid insensitive alien, you're a clever, carin', fun and good lookin' alien who wanted to make me happy but I threw it back in your face. I'm sorry, I was just so shocked."

"I understand," he said. "Really. This is all my fault."

"It's not."

"I... I took you away from her. I took you from your mother. I know how that feels. I shouldn't have done that."

"Don't say that. You didn't take me from anyone. I told you, we made our decisions and I chose to stay with you," Rose insisted, putting down the hot chocolate to curl her arms right around his torso and press her head to his shoulder. "I love you."

He sighed, kissing her forehead. "I love you too."

She looked up at his face, her eyes still red. "Don't do that face."

"What face?" he asked in surprise, looking back down at her.

"Your guilty face."

"I wasn't," he replied, tugging at his right ear.

"Don't lie."

"I wasn't lying!"

"I can tell when you lie, you tug at your right ear," she informed him, "you tug your left when you're thinking really hard or being a bit awkward."

"Oh," he muttered, tugging at his left ear.

She rolled her eyes with a giggle, and changed the subject. "Do your thing," she said, nudging him and wiping at her nose.

"What... oh," the Doctor realised quickly, laughed and shook his head. "No."

"Please."

"Noooo," he repeated, his lips pursed.

"It'll cheer me up."

"Really?" he wondered.

"Yeah." She nudged him again. "Do it or I'll cry some more."

He sighed. "This is bullying."

"Pleeease?" she asked, fluttering her wet eyelashes at him.

The Doctor sighed again, taking a breath and closing his eyes. "Heeey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me. I'm not sleepy, and there is no place I'm going to..." he sang in a perfect imitation of Bob Dylan. "Heeey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me. In the jingle-jangle morning, I'll come following you."

Rose giggled at him, snuggling closer.

"Though I know that evening's empire has returned into sand, vanished from my hand, left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping..." he continued, slipping his hand into hers. "My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet. I have no one to meet, and the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming. Heeey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me. I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to. Heeey Mr Tambourine Man, play a song for me. In the jingle-jangle morning, I'll come following you."

She leant forward and kissed him as he finished.

"You weren't Bob Dylan in a previous life were you?" she wondered seriously.

"No. I wish I was," the Doctor mused.

"Have you ever met him?"

"A couple of times."

"I want to meet him."

"Remind me to take you sometime."

"We'll never make it judgin' by our track record."

"No," he agreed laughing.

She finished the éclair and checked the clock. "Gone midnight. Not my birthday anymore."

"Belated happy birthday," he said, smiling.

"... How old am I?" she suddenly asked seriously.

The Doctor looked at her and laughed slightly at her blank expression. "You don't know?"

"No," she admitted. "How old am I?"

"You're tw-"

"No!" she suddenly yelped, sitting up. "I don't wanna know, actually."

"Make your mind up," he said, laughing.

She giggled at herself. "Nah. I don't wanna know. Not yet, anyway."

"Yet?"

"Well, I s'pose gotta get a warning before I hit menopause or that might be weird."

He laughed. "Okay. How about I tell you when you get to forty?"

"Oh, no. Fifty. Tell me at fifty."

"Okay, fifty it is."

"No... sixty."

"Sure?"

"No, wait." She looked at him, lying there quite bemused. "Don't make that face! One hundred. I wanna know when I'm 100-years-old."

He laughed again. "Okay," he said, nodding. "I'll tell you when you're 100."

"Hmm, I suppose... Oh no, wait, I'm dead in this universe aren't I?"

"Yeah... why?"

"I won't get my postcard from the Queen."

He laughed. "Probably be a King, by then."

"Yeah, I guess," she supposed. "Might not even get to 100, anyway."

"Of course you will."

"You'd have probably up and gone by then, anyway."

He looked at her, his eyebrows lowering. "What makes you say that?"

"I'll be 100!" she pointed out.

"I'm nearly 1000," the Doctor countered.

"But you're an alien and that works. I'll be all old and wrinkly and have no bladder control. That's not attractive," she jested.

"Who says I have bladder control now?" he joked, and she giggled and elbowed him.

"No, really," she insisted. "You'll still be young and I... Well, I wouldn't."

There was a brief pause as the Doctor considered this. "Rose," he began eventually. "Did I ever tell you how _weird _this all is?"

She looked confused. "What?"

"I'm a Time Lord, the highest and most intelligent species ever to exist in the Universe, and you're a human," the Doctor explained.

"An ant under your shoe, right?" Rose supposed.

"I'm sorry, but yes, to Time Lords you are. Humans meant nothing to them. It's understandable, I mean your planet is only 4.6 billion years old, the modern humans on the street have only been around for a fraction of that. As a planet you're all toddlers. I don't mean to put you down... Please don't be insulted."

"I know," she assured him. "Really, I get it. Most of the people from my time period don't even believe aliens exist."

He nodded, smiling at her as a thank you not for taking it the wrong way. "But to me... To me humans are like giants. And you're one of the most special humans I've ever known. I love you, I have no idea why, but I do. I can't imagine ever hating you, no matter how much we might argue. I bonded with you because I didn't have any doubt that in eighty years I'd ditch you because your bladder doesn't work anymore. Don't ever imagine I would."

She giggled. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Yep," she replied. "... Thank you for an amazing day."

"Except the last bit."

"_Includin'_ that," she assured him. "Thank you for one of the best days of my life. I love you."

"Quite right too," he replied, and they both laughed. "... Nah," he continued. "Love you too."

She finished her hot chocolate. "Let's just go to bed."

"Good idea," he replied. "We're already changed."

"Nice touch," she complimented.

He scooped her up in both arms and put her down in the bed, tucking her in.

"My head is gonna be wrecked tomorrow," she muttered as he climbed in next to her.

"No, it wont," the Doctor replied. "You're already completely sober. Didn't you notice?"

She blinked in surprise. "Oh. How'd that happen?"

"I slipped a nullifier in your hot chocolate," he admitted.

"Oh," she said again. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he replied, and for a moment they both just laid there. "... Do you want sex?" he suddenly asked.

She laughed at the very literal question. "What?"

"Well I can give it if you want it. I just thought you might like it. This seems like a time you'd want it."

"You're so alien," she said, still laughing. "No, I'm fine."

"Okay," he replied, turning over to wrap his arms around her.

"You were right, by the way."

"Of course I was," he replied immediately, and she laughed. "About what?" he asked.

"My self-esteem thing."

"Ah. Did I fix it?"

She smiled. "Yeah."

"Good."

"Thank you. Good night."

He kissed her. "G'night."

She waited twenty minutes until he was asleep, and then quietly and carefully drew her diary out from under her pillow. She scribbled an entry, before turning over to stare at him lying there. He must have been exhausted. He _never_ fell asleep before her.

She reached up and pushed a bit of hair out of his face, and rested her hand on his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered.

He didn't stir. He didn't even make a noise. He just slept; his chest slowly rising and falling in a steady rhythm. It was pretty incredible just how attracted to him she was when he was sleeping. He was somehow even more beautiful. But he was _always _beautiful. She was going to tell him that more often.

She added one more line to her diary entry, slipped it back under the pillow, and turned off the light.

* * *

_I don't deserve him._

_Rose x_


	23. Coming Back

**A/N: **Gosh, I'm productive recently.

* * *

Chapter 23 – Coming Back

When Jack woke up, there was blood absolutely _everywhere_.

Some of it was his, he knew, as he seemed to be blinded in one eye and he had excruciating pain ripping though his head. He moaned, blinking rapidly to try and focus. He caught his reflection in a shard of broken glass next to him – his head was practically caved in and _covered_ in blood. But just as he saw himself, his skull neatly pulled itself back into place and within seconds he completely healed.

For once, he was extremely glad of his immortality as the pain seeped away and his vision returned.

He then realised he was still holding onto the Doctor in a death grip. The man in his arms was limp, blood from his eyes contrasting with the paleness of his skin. He was practically white, and although the bruises under his eyes and on his face now near faded, the bottoms of his eyes were jet black.

"Doctor," Jack hissed, checking his chest for a hearts-beat. He was just about going, evidently saved from the full impact of the crash by Jack himself. His neck wasn't bleeding anymore, but the cut was so deep Jack didn't know just how deep it really was. There was nothing to treat him with either.

Jack's thoughts turned to the Master next. He looked around, but couldn't find him. Had he just _left _them there?

"Jack?" the Doctor suddenly asked in a whisper, completely taking Jack by surprise.

Jack looked down at him, running a hand down his blood-soaked face to try and clear a bit of it. "Morning," Jack said, trying to be as enthusiastic as he could.

"What... Where are we?" the Doctor muttered, or at least that's what Jack _thought_ he said. His words were so slurred; nearly indecipherable.

"The Proclamation I think," Jack told him. "We've gotta get out and find the Master, so we can get back to fixing you," he added, and began trying to do just that. He struggled to get out of the severely damaged escape pod without cutting himself or the Doctor on the torn metal and shattered glass scattered everywhere. He eventually managed it, and at the same time realised where the Master had gone.

He'd been thrown straight through the front of the escape pod, that much was clear. Jack ensured the Doctor was comfortable before moving to the other Time Lord who was sprawled out on the floor unconscious, with yet more blood soaking his shirt.

Jack swallowed nervously, suddenly _very_ aware of how crazy the situation was. Here he was, a measly human, with the last two Time Lords in existence lying at his feet – the lives of both dependant on him. He gathered up his resilience, and knelt down to check the Master.

His gunshot wound had been torn open, his arm looked dislocated and his head was soaked in blood as well as all the damage from the smashing glass. Gallifreyan resilience had no doubt saved him, but Jack needed to do something.

He looked around the dock they had crashed in for some kind of medical kit, but there was none. He got up and checked the walls, but the only thing with a green moon on was a communicator to the side of the door. It wasn't worth risking calling that to see if it was an automated system.

Jack decided to try and wake up the Master. "Master?" he asked quickly, touching his arm.

The Master immediately recoiled, as though struck. "GET OFF!" he yelled.

Jack drew back immediately, shocked. "Master, it's Jack."

"I know!" the Master insisted, his eyes wide. "Don't _touch _me, Freak!"

Jack took a step back, realising his immortality was probably a bit upsetting to an injured Time Lord that wasn't as well-trained as the Doctor. "Sorry," he said quickly. "Are you all right? We need to move; try and find some medical care for you two."

"No," the Master grated, struggling to his feet and holding his blood-soaked torso. "No, I'm not, you _pathetic _human!" he spat. "And if you think I'm staying here with _you two _for _one more__second _then you're _mistaken!"_

He made to grab Jack's manipulator, but Jack pulled it away. Now _he _was angry.

"So what!? You're just gonna _run!?" _Jack yelled, and threw his arm out to point at the Doctor. "He's _dying _for fuck's sake; the _only_ other surviving member of your race! You're just gonna let him _die!?"_

The Master looked straight into Jack's eyes as he spoke his next words, utterly dripping with pure malice._ "I don't care."_

He lunged for the manipulator again. He missed again.

"Yes, you do!" Jack yelled back, on _fire _now. "You're Koschei and he's Theta and without him _you have no purpose!"_

"_What!? _Don't be so _stupid _you-"

"You fight him and you fight him because Theta is _better _than Koschei, Theta has _always _been better than Koschei; better at school, better with people, better in what he chooses to do – better at_ life! _And Koschei doesn't really _like_ that!" Jack cut over him in a ear-blowing yell. "You've _never _wanted to kill him; you've had all the chances but _no! _Because Koschei wants to show Theta that he's the _better _one-"

"Shut up!" the Master screamed, his usual cool demeanour completely lost as he was now absolutely red in the face.

"You locked us up on the Valiant, you made our lives hell; you constantly beat the living _shit_ out of him in front of me, in front of Martha's family, in front of _everyone_ on that damn ship! You tore him to fucking pieces, humiliated him in every way you _sick_ fucking _bastard_, you spent every day working on him to make him look weak and pathetic just to try and prove to the universe that Koschei is the _best!"_

"Shut up you _pathetic _human!"

"That's all you've ever _done _with your life and that's all you'll do ever do, because you're a fucking _child! _But you will _never _win that, because Theta is better, has _always_ been better and always _will be_ better no matter how much you try to convince _anyone_ it's _ever _been anything _different!"_

"_You-"_

"Koschei," a voice suddenly whispered from the floor. The argument abruptly stopped as they both looked down at the Doctor, who was on his knees looking at the Master. He looked like he was about to die on the spot. "... Koschei?"

The Master immediately stopped being angry, jumping forward to him to support the Doctor by the shoulders. "Thete, do you know who I am?"

"You're... Koschei," the Doctor croaked. "You were... You were my friend."

"Yeah, we used to run through those fields, remember? Remember those fields?" the Master asked anxiously.

"Mount Perdition..." the Doctor muttered.

"Yes!" the Master yelled. "What about the Prydon Academy? Or the Time Academy?"

"The Deca, we were in the Deca..." the Doctor muttered, and nearly collapsed on the spot. "We were the s-smartest in the Academy."

The Master kept him held up, despite the pain he was clearly in. "Yes, yes. You've got it. By Rassilon, Thete, you're getting it back," he breathed.

The Doctor gave a half-smile, and nearly fainted. More blood trickled out of his nose. It was getting to be more and more.

"Okay, let's move," the Master said quickly, putting an arm around the Doctor to stand him up. Jack quickly took over as it was clearly too much for the injured Master to handle. Then the Master brought out his laser screwdriver, still intact, and moved ahead with a strange kind of renewed determination as though the argument a minute ago had never even happened.

"What about the Judoon?" Jack asked.

"Judoon are logical, but stupid," the Master told him. "They'll assume we'll be where the chip was. The chip's been destroyed so therefore we must be dead. We have to go."

He opened the door and slipped through.

"Things are looking up," Jack said.

"Why?" the Doctor asked in a murmur.

"It's coming back," Jack said happily. "You can remember a bit of your past."

"It... isn't c-coming back," the Doctor whispered, out of the Master's range.

Jack stopped, surprised. "What?"

"I lied."

"... What?" Jack repeated, stunned.

"I just... just told him what he t-told me at... Tor... Torchwood."

"... Oh," Jack realised dully, before the Doctor lurched and threw up onto the floor three times in quick succession. Time was running out.

* * *

It felt very eerie as the three walked through the Proclamation – it was utterly deserted with not a single person in sight. It was dark, cold, and so very _silent_.

Jack had been egging the Master on finding medical care, but the Time Lord had fobbed him off. The Master seemed perfectly content to stumble around in pain, so Jack just let him get on with that. Until the Doctor needed drastic emergency care than that prick could walk around in pain till the cows came home for all Jack cared.

They had no idea where they were heading, but it seemed logical that the first thing they should look for was the log; in a central computer of some kind. So they checked maps, took lifts, ascended and descended stairs until thirty solid minutes passed, and they had to stop to rethink in a long white corridor.

"We're gonna be here forever," Jack muttered, holding the Doctor's head up gently to give him a sip of bottled water. His skin was clammy and cold.

"I know," the Master muttered, staring at the Doctor. "Maybe it's time to give up."

"We can't give up," Jack protested. "We've come too far."

"Jack," the Doctor suddenly said, looking around the corridor in a daze for the first time.

"What?"

"I've... I've been here b-before," the Doctor muttered, struggling to stand up under his own power.

Jack looked around the white corridor, taking in every detail as he realised... "Is this the place you were running in?"

"Yeah..."

Jack glanced at the Master, before the Doctor was on the move. He led them down the corridor, and turned left into a large room, lined with strange pods. All of them were broken, windows smashed and doors hanging off their hinges.

"Here... Running, everyone was running..." the Doctor murmured. "The footsteps... They came from..."

* * *

_The Doctor stumbled forward to trip over and hit the floor, struggling to breathe. Where were his family!? People were running and screaming in front of him towards a door, away from his right. He looked to see what they were running from, but the moment he looked a shot flew across his vision and killed the person standing right in front of him. Then the footsteps started, getting closer..._

_Terror instantly filled him from head to toe. He sprang to his feet, and ran for the door._

* * *

The Doctor raised a hand and pointed to the right. "There. Footsteps. I had to run..."

Jack nodded, keeping a hand on the Doctor's arm as the Master made himself busy looking at the pods.

"Why did you have to run from the footsteps?" Jack asked gently.

"They were... g-going to kill me," the Doctor whined.

"The Judoon were going to kill you?" Jack surmised, astonished. "Why?"

"I don't know," the Doctor muttered, staring at the pod the Master was investigating. "But I had to run. I ran..." He pointed at the door they had just come through. "I ran through there..."

"Follow the memory trail," the Master ordered, moving away from the pod to the door.

The Doctor looked nervously at Jack, who nodded reassuringly, leading the Doctor to the door.

"What happened next?" Jack asked.

* * *

_The Doctor kept running with a crowd of terrified people, all dressed in black. He couldn't see Rose anywhere. They ran down corridor after corridor together, never once anyone having enough rationality through the fear to stop and ask where they were going. They all just had to run from the footsteps – the Judoon, seemingly right behind them – the corridor deafened by the sound of laser-fire. Even as he ran in the crowd, people fell down like toy soldiers beside him, flying to the floor in a scream of death, blood and smoke._

* * *

"... I... I ran with the crowd, there were so m-many of us," the Doctor whispered, being helped by Jack down the corridor. "The Judoon were sh-shooting, people were... were being killed next to m-me. There was so... so much _screaming."_

Jack swallowed nervously as the Doctor turned the corner, and met as corridor that was almost completely destroyed, clearly by some sort of blast...

* * *

_The Doctor reached the corner and made to follow the crowd, when an explosion ripped out right in front of him, throwing him off of his feet. Immediately he was deafened by a high-pitched buzzing in his ears and blinded by the light, but he couldn't just sit there and wait to be killed..._

_He began to crawl in the direction he had previously been heading, desperate to get away. It took roughly ten seconds for his sight and hearing to return to something he could use, and immediately the raucous sound of screaming, laser-shots and bodies falling started up again. His hand hit something on the floor and he wrenched open his eyes, struggling to focus._

_He just put his hand onto a limb, attached to no one._

_He immediately looked away, but the corridor was covered in dead bodies, and bits of people caught in the explosion. He carried on crawling. _

* * *

"I t-turned the corner and it exploded..." the Doctor whispered, his eyes scanning around the now pristine-clean floor. "I couldn't see or... or hear anything... B-but I had to... had to get away, so I crawled, then I could s-see again and there was so much _blood. _Then I looked up and... oh god," the Doctor suddenly whimpered.

"What?" Jack asked quickly.

* * *

_The Doctor continued to crawl, his hearts hammering in his chest. His hands blindly fumbled for the next patch of floor; pulling himself through the tide of bodies. His head felt like it was on fire from the blast..._

_Shouldn't he be dead by now?_

_His eyes were beginning to focus a little more, the faces of the people on the floor becoming more distinctive. He kept on crawling, until suddenly he saw blonde hair, lying on the floor having been shot. It took a few seconds for him to take in the face; humanoid, a woman, pretty, blonde..._

"_NO!"_

* * *

The Doctor stopped, and looked straight down at the floor.

"She was here..."

"She!?" Jack repeated in horror, his eyes wide. "Please, Doc, please don't say..."

"Pretty and... and blonde," the Doctor croaked, and began to cry.

Jack swore and moved forward, hugging the Doctor tightly. "God no, please. Are you sure it was her?"

The Doctor continued to sob, reaching into his pocket to pull out the dog-eared photo he'd kept with him. He held it up – Rose was smiling at him beautifully from the picture. "Yeah..."

"What happened? What had happened to her?" Jack asked quickly. "She wasn't... She wasn't..." Jack swallowed, struggling to even get the next words out. "I mean, her body was all there, wasn't it?"

* * *

_The Doctor was crying uncontrollably. The shock was only just setting in. She'd been shot by the Judoon, that much was clear. At least she was still in one piece._

_He looked up at the running people, and looked back at the rapidly advancing Judoon, looking straight at him._

_He couldn't even find the will power to move. He laid down next to her, crying relentlessly. There was no point. Not anymore. No point fighting. He could die here, now. Die here next to her._

* * *

The Doctor nodded. "S-she'd... been shot. The Judoon... sh-shot her. They sh-shot her. She was... she w-was already d-dead."

Jack swore again. Rose was dead. He couldn't believe it. He didn't _want _to believe it.

"What happened next?" the Master persisted, worrying less about his feelings and more about what happened.

"I... I lied down n-next to... next to her. I w-wanted to d-die with her... Then... Then I heard a sh-shout..."

* * *

"_Daddy!"_

_The Doctor looked up immediately. That voice..._

"_Leah!" he screamed, and suddenly there was a reason. He couldn't see her anywhere. Adrenaline burst though his body, and right in front of the Judoon he jumped to his feet and began to run. Several shots rang out, but they missed._

"_DADDY!"_

"_LEAH!" he screamed, running in the direction of the voice. It took him down a corridor and he kept running..._

* * *

"It was Leah, screaming for... for me. I couldn't... I ran, trying to find her..."

The Doctor staggered into the next corridor, looking down the length of it. At the end was a three-way split with escape pods at the end. "... I ran to the... the end, then I t-turned... And..." The Doctor blinked hard, trying desperately to suppress the rainfall of tears escaping his eyes. "There was this... this pain, in my h-head."

The Master frowned at him. "So you didn't get in an escape pod?"

"You didn't find Leah?" Jack asked anxiously, ignoring the Master's question.

"I never... saw her," the Doctor gasped. "I don't know what h-happened... next. I woke up... on E-Earth in the M-Master's house..."

Jack swallowed, and hugged him again. "It's all right, it's okay. She's not dead, she can't be dead. And what about Alex and Kiana? They weren't there. They're still alive, somewhere. We _have_ to find them." His face suddenly turned, his eyes darkening with hatred. "We have to find them, and destroy the Proclamation for what they've done."

"I've got a better idea," the Master said, grabbing Jack's arm and pulling off his manipulator in one slide of his hand. "Let's jump back twelve years and find out what happened next."

Before either Jack or the Doctor had a chance to protest, the Master programmed the manipulator, grabbed their hands and the three disappeared in a whoosh and flash of light.

* * *

They were instantly deafened by the sounds of screams and laser-fire. Even as they refocused the Master grabbed the Doctor and Jack's arms and pulled them to safety.

The past version of the Doctor streaked by, running for his life. All three poked their heads out of their hiding place, daring not to speak as the alternate Doctor reached the end of the corridor, turned, and as all three watched somebody stepped out behind the Doctor, drew out a metal rod and threw it with full force to the back of his head. The impact was so hard the three heard the crack of the alternate Doctor's skull fracturing before he hit the floor, out cold.

"No," the Doctor whined. Jack slipped his hand into the Doctor's, squeezing.

The person who had hit the alternate Doctor stepped forward, before turning their head to look up the corridor for a moment. The three immediately drew back... But they had already recognised that person.

"You!" Jack gasped, looking at the Master.

The Master didn't reply, poking his head out again to look at the sight before him with interest. The alternate version of himself was just staring at the past-version of the Doctor lying unconscious on the floor. After a moment the alternate Master knelt down, turned the past Doctor over onto his back, cracked his knuckles and placed both his hands firmly on the Doctor's head.

Then the past version of the Doctor began to _scream_.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Jack shrieked, desperately wanting to run out and stop the alternate Master but he was grabbed by the arm.

"Don't, we can't alter this piece of time," his Master grated, and looked again. The past Doctor was screaming his throat raw, shaking as though having some kind of horrific seizure. Blood poured from his mouth, nose, eyes and ears, pooling on the floor as the alternate Master kept his hold, gritted his teeth...

"You're killing me..." the Doctor croaked.

"I knew it!" Jack spat, looking straight at the Master.

"Knew what?" the Master asked, nonchalant.

"It was you, you did this!"

"I haven't done it _yet," _the Master pointed out seriously, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"You did this! Why the hell would you do this!?"

"I don't know, do I?" the Master replied seriously. "This is a future me."

The alternate Master drew his hands from the Doctor, and stood up. With the Doctor lying there in front of him, still bleeding, he straightened up his shirt and hummed a note of approval.

"You sick bastard!" Jack yelled.

The Master ignored that, still watching. His alternate self took the Doctor's arm and pressed his fingers to his wrist, presumably checking for a pulse. He got what he wanted, and dropped the arm. It hit the floor redundantly.

"I can't watch this," Jack spat. "I can't sit here and watch you ruin him!"

He made to get up again. The Master immediately threw his arm out.

"I can't let you interfere with this," the Master told him with a strange look of sincerity on his face. "Believe me, I think I'm saving his life."

"_How the fuck are you doing that!?" _Jack screamed as the alternate Master picked up the past Doctor and took him to one of the escape pods. He loaded the Doctor inside one, secured him and fiddled with the computer for a moment before pulling out. He sealed up the pod, hit a lever and the pod jettisoned.

"How could you do that to me!?" the Doctor shrieked at the Master. "You did this!"

"I genuinely have no idea," the Master said seriously.

"You _liar!"_ the Doctor screamed.

"No, really," the Master insisted. "Honestly. I have no idea why I did that... I mean, why I'm _about _to do that."

"_You've ruined my life _and you have _no idea why!?"_

"I'm sorry!" the Master insisted.

The Doctor suddenly launched into action, went for the manipulator and hit a button. All three vanished on the spot, and reappeared twelve years later in the exact same spot, only to find themselves standing in the centre of a circle of Judoon pointing their guns at them.

"Welcome," a Proclamation woman suddenly said, stepping out from the crowd to meet them. "You are all under arrest."


	24. Echoes

**A/N: **My God, that took a while.

Steven Moffat, eat your heart out :P

* * *

Chapter 24 - Echoes

"Where's J-Jack?" the Doctor moaned, half in a daze. He had very little grasp on what was happening. His head was haemorrhaging again, his nose pooling out blood. His eyes were streaming tears and everything was swirling into one colour – he was absolutely terrified, emotionally destroyed and desperately, _desperately _wanted Jack.

Nobody bothered answering him.

"Please," the Doctor begged, barely able to open his eyes. "Please, I w-want... Jack..."

They ignored him again.

Why wouldn't they let him see Jack? He _needed_ Jack. Maybe Jack was close?

He took a breath. "Jack!" he tried to yell, but it only came out as a strained moan.

"Scan indicates significant brain damage. Surgery is required," someone above him said. He had no idea what that meant.

"Anaesthetise him and put him in the chamber."

"No... Jack," the Doctor whined.

Something went into his arm, and he blacked out.

* * *

Silence had reigned between Jack and the Master for quite a while now, sat across opposite sides of the cell. Jack was just staring at the Master with utter contempt.

He wanted to wrap his hands around the Master's neck and squeeze until his eyes popped out. He wanted to choke him slowly and painfully until the Master's neck was so crushed there was nothing solid left in it. He wanted every bone to turn to powder beneath his hands. He wanted the Master _dead _for what he'd done.

However, they were both restrained with special fusling chains, so even though Jack wanted to he couldn't move to do it. So he settled for just staring at him; eyeing him with dark, sincere eyes.

The Master, as always, didn't seem to notice his look of utter malice.

To make matters worse, they'd taken the Doctor away from Jack. They'd carted him off on a trolley on the three's arrest. The only solace was that it seemed to be in the direction of the medical floor, so at least he was being treated... but Jack was well aware that the Doctor was very, very sick. He knew that without knowledge of regeneration, the Doctor wouldn't be able to, and he would die. Jack might never see him alive again. It was all a complete mess. Rose was dead, the Doctor's family was torn apart, and it was all the fault of the scrawny coward sitting in front of him.

The door suddenly clunked open, and two Shadow Architects with a crowd of Judoon entered the room.

Jack was immediately alert. "Where is he!?" he grated dangerously.

One gazed at him as though he was no better than a cockroach, but the other was hovering behind trying not to make eye contact.

"You have been arrested and tried by the Shadow Proclamation..." the confident one began, ignoring the question.

"Tried?" the Master repeated airily. "I don't recall being tried."

"_Where is the Doctor!?" _Jack practically shrieked.

"He's being treated on the medical floor," the quiet Architect replied. The stern one shot her a look that could kill.

"I was here to find out the truth about what happened to the Doctor," the Master began, ever calm. "I've found it, and now I would like to leave."

"You can't leave," the woman scoffed, almost laughing at the prospect. "You are under arrest."

"Then what are we charged with?" Jack demanded to know.

"You have no right to speak."

"Article 45.7. All prosecuted life-forms have the right to know their charges," the Master stated boldly.

"Article 45.7 is null and void," she replied immediately.

Jack's eyes widened. "Since when?" he asked seriously. "You can't just ditch your own rules!"

She ignored him. "You are both sentenced to Volag-noc for a lifetime imprisonment..."

"Lifetime!? For _what!?"_

"Is the Doctor coming with us?" the Master wondered, but she didn't even bother to acknowledge he'd spoken.

"You have no right to speak, no right to parley, no right to parole and no right to appeal. You will board a vessel in thirty minutes bound for Volag-noc where you will commence a lifetime sentence."

"Fabulous," the Master muttered.

"What about the _Doctor!?" _Jack yelled in frustration.

They didn't reply. They simply turned, left, closed the door, and all Jack could do was seethe.

"Don't be so surprised," the Master said seriously. "He's probably dead. Think of it as one less job, running around after him."

"You can shut your face," Jack grated.

"It's over," the Master replied seriously. "The fun stops here, I'm afraid. Volag-noc will tear your little human mind apart."

"Wanna bet?" Jack challenged.

The Master sighed, rolling his eyes. He shifted his hands slightly and pulled out his laser screwdriver. In three quick buzzes his restraints were off and he was getting up, moving to the terminal in the corner. Jack watched with narrowed eyes as the Master began to run his fingers across the keys on the terminal, occasionally buzzing with his screwdriver.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked seriously.

The Master ignored him. Jack didn't bother following up the conversation, and for five minutes he sat there watching the Master tap away. A printout came shooting out and the Master turned back to Jack, unlocking him with the laser screwdriver and throwing the paper at Jack.

"As I thought," was all he said.

Jack didn't take it. "We need to find the Doctor."

"Forget him."

"But they could be doing anything to him right now!" Jack protested.

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about him if I were you," the Master said seriously. "Read it."

"What?"

"Read it," the Master repeated firmly.

**Genetic samples taken from 1537 from a potential 469,720,215 prisoners.**

**Draconian x13, Haemovore x48, Human x1, Human/Gallifreyan hybrid x1, Hyzoid x241, Mizor x89, Mopsian x410, Morok x77, Plasmovore x436, Proamonian x19, Sontaran x201, Time Lord Gallifreyan/Human hybrid x1**

**Phase Alfa**

**A-1: Samples were migrated **

**A-2: 1537 samples rejected**

**SAMPLES DISPOSED OF**

**-END OF PHASE ALFA-**

**Phase Bravo**

**B-1: Samples were migrated**

**B-2: 1400 samples rejected, 137 samples progress to blastocyst stage**

**B-3: Incubation attempted; 137 samples rejected**

**SAMPLES DISPOSED OF**

**-END OF PHASE BRAVO-**

**Phase Charlie**

**C-1: Samples were migrated**

**C-2: 332 samples rejected, 1205 samples progress to blastocyst stage**

**C-3: Incubation period; 1014 samples advance to stage 4**

**C-4: Layers formed. Ectoderm present in 56 samples. Mesoderm present in 92 samples. Endoderm present in 0 samples. 0 samples progress to growth**

**SAMPLES DISPOSED OF**

**-END OF PHASE CHARLIE-**

**Phase Delta**

**D-1: Samples were migrated**

**D-2: 90 samples rejected, 1447 samples progress to blastocyst stage**

**D-3: Incubation period; 1290 samples advance to stage 4**

**D-4: Layers formed. Ectoderm present in 500 samples. Mesoderm present in 711 samples. Endoderm present in 435 samples. 435 samples progress to growth**

**D-5: Fully-grown bodies achieved, 144 samples progress to mental implantation**

**D-6: Basic physical and mental processes uploaded. 0 samples progress**

**SAMPLES DISPOSED OF**

**-END OF PHASE DELTA-**

**Phase Echo**

**E-1: Samples were migrated**

**E-2: 14 samples rejected, 1523 samples progress to blastocyst stage**

**E-3: Incubation period; 1436 samples advance to stage 4**

**E-4: Layers formed. Ectoderm present in 1088 samples. Mesoderm present in 745 samples. Endoderm present in 511 samples. 511 samples progress to growth**

**E-5: Fully-grown bodies achieved, 300 samples progress to mental implantation**

**E-6: Basic physical and mental processes uploaded. 160 samples progress**

**E-7: Advanced mental knowledge uploaded. 70 samples progress**

**E-8: Advanced physical knowledge uploaded. 45 samples progress**

**E-9: Memory implantation commenced. 33 samples progress**

**E-10: Memory implantation continued. 24 samples progress**

**E-11: Memory implantation completed. 21 samples progress**

**E-12: Conditioning commences. 21 samples successfully conditioned.**

**-END O****F PHASE ECHO-**

**-SEE LOG 37.24.1-**

Jack finished reading, his eyes snapping up to the Master's. "I don't understand."

"It's an _experiment," _the Master stressed. "Log 37.24.1 details the day we went back to – the day the samples escaped. The Shadow Proclamation didn't want it getting out that they've done some illegal cloning of their prisoners, so they shot them all on sight. The log lists all of the samples as dead, _except _for two. Echo 1 – born from a sample from a male Time Lord Gallifreyan/Human hybrid – is in Volag-noc, and Echo 3 – from the female Gallifreyan/Human sample – is listed as missing."

"You mean the Doctor and Leah? They _cloned _the Doctor's family?"

"Yes!" the Master sighed, exasperated how slow Jack was processing this.

"Why?" Jack asked seriously.

"Who knows?" the Master replied, shrugging. "But either way, that Doctor currently bleeding out his brain isn't actually the Doctor."

"Then where the hell is the real Doctor?"

The Master rolled his eyes. "Weren't you listening? All samples are dead, except for two. Echo 1, and Echo 3. Echo 3 is listed as missing, and Echo 1 is in Volag-noc."

"... But Echo 1 is the Doctor's clone, and he's at the Proclamation..."

"Exactly."

"Your future self helped Echo 1 escape... and the Doctor put himself in his clone's place so his clone could get to us on Earth," Jack realised slowly.

"Yes."

"So the Proclamation hid the Doctor in Volag-noc, thinking he was Echo 1..."

"No," the Master interrupted, finger in the air. "You can't confuse a cloned Gallifreyan with a fully-fledged Time Lord."

"They _knew _they were locking up the real Doctor!?"

"They _had_ to know."

"They knowingly imprisoned an innocent guy in Volag-noc and just left him there!? Hold on!" Jack's eyes shot wide open in horror. "That means he's been there since the Proclamation massacre – the Doctor's been imprisoned in Volag-noc for twelve years..."

"Correct."

Jack swallowed, taking this all in. Thoughts rushed through his head. "So we get his clone, go to Volag-noc and free the Doctor."

"We?" the Master scoffed. "I'm done here. I've found you the truth and now you can sort him out for yourself. He's probably dead, anyway."

"You coward," Jack spat.

The Master's eyes suddenly enflamed, a deep rage setting in. "I just don't care, Freak. This is his problem and if you want to get yourself entangled in Volag-noc for him then you have fun with that," he said coolly, and turned to leave.

"But he might be alive," Jack suddenly said.

The Master stopped dead, turning slowly back.

"He might be alive," Jack repeated, continuing. "He could be sitting in Volag-noc right now waiting for us. Think about it. You haven't destroyed the mind of the Doctor's clone yet. What made you do that?"

"I don't particularly care."

"Yes, you do."

"Don't tell me what I think!"

Jack quickly decided to change tact. "Fine. Sorry. But I'm going to Volag-noc to save him, and I know I can't do that without you. Please help me save him."

The Master gazed at him for a long while, his eyes narrowed. Neither of them spoke for at least thirty seconds.

"Fine," the Master said, moving to the door. "I'll help you break him out of Volag-noc, but that's where it stops."

"Agreed," Jack replied quickly, jumping to his feet to follow the Master out of the door.

"Clone first," Jack said, turning left to the medical floor.

The Master didn't follow him. "Why do we care about him, again?"

"We can't just abandon him," Jack insisted.

"Why not?"

Jack frowned. "He's still a Time Lord, he's still part of your species..."

"He's not a Time Lord," the Master scoffed.

"What?" Jack asked seriously.

"Time Lord isn't a species!" the Master cried, exasperated with Jack's stupidity. "It takes learning, development of skill and years of academy training to become a Time Lord. That man is just a plasticine Gallifreyan made by a bunch of stupid half-scientists. He has no potential, he can't even _begin _to understand what he is. He is nothing."

"But he's our friend."

"Yours, maybe," the Master muttered. "I'll go to Volag-noc, but I won't hang around waiting for a half-ling."

He strolled towards the docks.

Jack was suddenly torn. Without the Master he had little chance of saving the Doctor, but he couldn't just abandon the clone, not after everything they'd gone through. But as the Master passed through the airlock into the ship, Jack realised he had no choice, and followed.

* * *

The clone woke up in a bed, attached to a dozen machines. His head was hurting less, and his vision was much clearer. He could see one of the Proclamation women standing at the foot of the bed, staring at him with a deep kind of sadness in her eyes.

"Where am I?" he croaked, confused.

"The Shadow Proclamation medical floor," she responded. "How are you feeling?"

He didn't answer the question. "Where's Jack?"

She didn't answer the question either. "How are you responding, Echo?"

The clone looked at her, frowning. "... You c-called me Echo."

"Because you are Echo."

"But I'm the Doctor."

She took a breath. "You have no awareness, then. I shall explain. You are _an_ Echo. You are of the Echo generation."

"... What's the Echo generation?"

"... A mistake. You must understand, Echo 1. We were so very scared. We were given a tape –a tape I have not yet made. We were given it thirteen years ago by an anonymous source. We watched the tape, and feared the fall of the Proclamation by one of the Doctor's children, so we tried to defend ourselves. We arrested the Doctor and his family; attempted to execute the threat. We were unsuccessful, so we grew clones from the Doctor, his wife and his daughter from samples taken during the time of their imprisonment, and attempted to make complete copies of them. We attempted to implant their memories and copy them as they had been before, with intention to let them live their lives freely... but instead the end result would be that they were under our control."

"... I'm your experiment," the clone realised in a croak.

"Yes. But you are more than we anticipated. You have been programmed with all the basic functions. You have had databases loaded into your head; language books for every known language, catalogues of every known object. You have complete mastery of all forms of combat... But you have no control over your inhibitions. Emotions are very new to you – we cannot manufacture human emotion. You have discovered your emotional responses in your own way and you now choose to handle them in your own way. This is the flaw with the Echo generation, and this is why Echo 3 hunts us down. This is the price we must pay."

"But who's Echo 3?" the clone asked quietly. "Why are they killing you?"

"We took samples from many subjects being held as prisoners in our facilities. We tried again and again to grow perfect clones to protect us from the oncoming threat, but phases Alfa through to Delta were unsuccessful. The Echo generation survived to memory implantation, but during conditioning the pods were opened and the generation escaped. Every Echo was exterminated, except for two. Echo 3 escaped. Echo 1 left in an escape pod, and a being fitting the description of Echo 1 was captured and taken to Volag-noc, to hide our guilty secret. Echo 3 assumes Echo 1 and 2 are dead, and now it seeks revenge for its parent's deaths."

"But I'm here," the clone protested. "I was in the escape pod... If I'm Echo 1 then whoever you captured... wasn't me."

She looked to the floor. "Yes."

"But the only person who looks like me is..." he trailed off, his eyes widening.

"Yes."

"You put the real Doctor in Volag-noc."

"Yes."

"And you _knew."_

"Yes."

"He's been in there for twelve years for no reason."

"... Yes," the lady whispered.

"How could you do that!?" the clone gasped.

She looked as though she were about to cry. "It is all our fault."

"Release him!" he demanded.

"We can't," the Architect whispered.

"What? Just let him out!"

"... His section of cells was gassed with alere flamman six months ago."

The clone stared at her in horror. "You killed the Doctor..."

She didn't answer that, just staring at the floor.

"Where's Jack? Does he know?" the clone asked.

"The two prisoners have escaped and left the Proclamation."

The clone fell absolutely silent, tiny little daggers stabbing into his hearts. "... They left without me?"

She nodded.

The clone swallowed, suddenly very, very terrified. He was completely on his own now. Jack had gone... Left him in the hands of the Proclamation.

"... What's going to happen to me now?" he asked quietly.

She stared at him for a long while, her eyes heavy. "... I am sorry."


	25. Thete and Brax

Chapter 25 – Thete and Brax

Tchan had actually begun to find Volag-Noc very cushty. He was in amongst people he would now call his friends, which was something he never would have imagined when he'd first arrived. He was making _friends, _in _Volag-Noc. _

It had fast been clear that around here that Braxiatel was the _boss_, and Tchan was extremely glad to be counted as an ally of his. Braxiatel was the man who kept the place running smoothly, which was an astounding feat in itself. A hostile place full of the worst the universe had to offer that could have easily spiralled out of control without security was probably now the safest place to be in the universe. The people were jolly and accommodating, and as long as you didn't go near the cells it was like a happy, if slightly motley and dysfunctional community.

Tchan had been in Volag-Noc for a week, now – a very pleasant week. It was a Tuesday when he got bored of his normal routine, and decided to have a wander.

More by coincidence than anything he found Braxiatel in a control room, sitting in a chair staring at a screen with narrowed eyes.

"Braxiatel?" Tchan wondered from the doorway.

"Something's not right," Braxiatel muttered in reply to him.

Tchan took that as an invitation to move forward, checking the scanner. "What?"

"There's a ship arriving," Braxiatel continued. "And it's not prisoner transport."

"What is it?"

"I don't..."

The ship suddenly registered, requesting landing permission. It identified on the screen.

It was a Judoon ship.

Braxiatel's frown deepened considerably. "What are _they _doing here?"

"Maybe they've come back to run it?" Tchan suggested.

"Perhaps," Braxiatel responded, but didn't sound convinced. He leant forward and approved the landing request, before reaching for the PA system.

"This is Braxiatel," he began, his voice echoing around Volag-Noc. "The Judoon have arrived. Go inside your cells, be quiet, and stay there until further notice. Thank you."

He hung up the PA comm and went to the door, holding up his arm to hold back Tchan. He peered around the corner and waited, silent and still.

It took a good few minutes for the Judoon to enter, and in sync, they marched in a group of eight down the corridor. Braxiatel followed without hesitation, Tchan hot on his heels. Together they followed the Judoon down the corridor stealthily, tailing them as they made their way through the maze of halls in a steady march. Tchan dare not breathe a word, just taking Braxiatel's lead. It soon became clear where the Judoon were going as they approached the giant red door Tchan had questioned when he'd first arrived.

"Why are they going in there?" Braxiatel muttered to himself, frowning. Tchan looked at him. He looked confused, and worried...

"Make sure it's dead," one of them gruffed, and a Judoon in protective clothing and a helmet opened the door. Immediately Braxiatel whimpered, his hand flying to his head.

Tchan was alarmed. "Braxiatel? Are you okay?" he whispered urgently.

"Oh no, it can't be, it can't..." Braxiatel breathed, his eyes wide as he stared at the Judoon.

"What?" Tchan persisted.

"They're all dead, they died, in the War, they're gone..."

"Who's gone?"

Braxiatel swallowed, his entire body shaking. He didn't answer Tchan. "It's him, no, it's _him!__Please _don't be in there, _please don't be in there..."_

The Judoon reappeared, carrying a body hidden by rags between them. A hand was sticking out from between the blankets. It had a single ring on its finger.

"No...!" Braxiatel gasped in horror.

"What?" Tchan asked urgently, quite terrified by Braxiatel's sudden complete change in demeanour.

Braxiatel looked at him, and his eyes were suddenly so narrow and dark. "Tchan, have you ever killed anyone before?"

Tchan blinked in surprise at the question. "No..."

"Then stay back, and never start," Braxiatel grated, pulled a gun from inside his shirt, and ran forward to the Judoon.

"Braxiatel!" Tchan cried, but the corridor was already ablaze with gunfire and Judoon bellows. Tchan dived to safety, covering his head in fear. It was only twenty seconds until the fight was over, and suddenly Braxiatel reappeared, completely unscathed and carrying the body still wrapped in rags.

"Stay in front of me, clear the path to my cell," Braxiatel ordered Tchan. Tchan was so terrified by this point he just obeyed.

* * *

Thankfully they met no one on the way to Braxiatel's cell. When they got there, Braxiatel ordered Tchan to lock the door and stay quiet.

Braxiatel lowered the body to the bed carefully, and pulled back the rags to reveal a thin, gaunt face with messy, choppy brown hair. Tchan stared at the humanoid man – his eyes, nose and mouth were all covered in a clear sticky substance. He could swear the man wasn't breathing.

"Theta, Thete," Braxiatel said urgently, putting his fingers on the man's temple and closing his eyes. "Look at me, Thete."

"Who is he, Braxiatel?" Tchan asked quietly.

Braxiatel either didn't hear the question, or completely ignored it. He used the blanket the man was wrapped in to wipe the sticky substance from his eye, and carefully pulled up the man's eyelid to reveal a dark brown iris.

"By Rassilon," Braxiatel breathed, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "Can you see me, Thete?"

There was utterly no response. Tchan was convinced the man – Thete – was dead, but Braxiatel didn't seem to think so. Braxiatel pulled more blankets away and Tchan could see the man was in tattered, dirty prisoner clothes with chains wrapped around his wrists.

For a moment Braxiatel just stared at the man, his eyes wide in horror, before he looked at Tchan. "Get me a knife – under my bed in the metal box."

Tchan immediately ducked down to retrieve it, finding it within seconds. He pulled it out and handed it to Braxiatel, who tried the chains, but they were fusling chains and impossible to release without the right tools.

"Othering Other!" Braxiatel swore in exasperation, instead cutting through Thete's prison clothes to pull them off. The skin under his shirt was red and cracked.

"Okay," Braxiatel breathed, and turned back to Tchan. "He's not here, nobody knows he's here, you don't even know he's here, you were never with me! Do you understand!?" he hissed.

Tchan nodded quickly. "He's not here."

"Not a word to anyone," Braxiatel persisted.

"I won't say anything," Tchan assured him.

"Swear on your _life!"_

"I swear on my life," Tchan said quickly, beginning to get a bit scared now.

Braxiatel jumped to his feet, going to the door. "Stay here and watch him. If he wakes up, tell him Brax is sorting this out. I'm locking this place from the outside."

"Okay," Tchan muttered. "Where are you going?"

"He needs medical treatment; I'm going to visit the med-bay," Braxiatel replied. "I'll be back in half an hour."

"Okay," Tchan repeated as Braxiatel stepped through the door. "But Braxiatel, who is he?" Tchan asked again.

Braxiatel turned back, nodding as if to confirm something. "He's my brother, Thete, and no Judoon is going to get their hands on him. If they find him, they'll kill him."

Tchan nodded. "Okay. He'll be safe, Braxiatel."

Braxiatel didn't reply to that, just looked at Tchan, then Thete, and then shut the door.

* * *

As promised, Braxiatel returned thirty minutes later with bags of things from the medical bay. Tchan helped Braxiatel to link the still unconscious Thete to several medical machines and drips. They redressed him into comfortable clothes that wouldn't irritate his already damaged skin and got Thete as comfortable as possible with tens of blankets and pillows.

"Can I ask something?" Tchan wondered when Thete was settled.

"Yes?" Braxiatel asked.

"What's that sticky stuff on his face?"

"It's a non-porous barrier," Braxiatel informed him. "It prevents any intrusion on a molecular level. Kept him safe."

"Safe from what?"

Braxiatel's eyes suddenly darkened, looking at Tchan seriously. "Alere flammam."

Tchan's face remained blank. "What's that?"

Braxiatel's eyes disconnected with Tchan's to look at the floor. "It's an execution gas. It's one of the worst ones ever to be made. It is illegal everywhere. It kills anything it touches; it sets you on fire and burns you alive. When you breathe it in it sets your insides on fire. Everything just burns. It's the worst death imaginable... The Judoon gassed out the Screaming Souls block with it several months ago, just before they left." He looked back at Thete. "He should be dead. I thought everyone in there was dead..."

Tchan felt very sick, just at the description of it. "How is he not?"

"Thete's so clever, he's always been clever, he suppressed its effects," Brax replied. "He switched off his non-vital organs and put himself in a trance coma so he wouldn't consume energy, he turned on his sweat glands to prevent himself from catching fire and created the non-porous barrier to stop the molecular intrusion – he completely sealed himself up to stop the alere flammam getting inside him and burning his organs. Some slight skin damage, but he's still alive. Alive, but in a coma."

"But he'll wake up?"

"I don't know," Braxiatel confessed, closing his eyes. "This is the lowest kind of coma a Time Lord can access. This is the meditative state most Gallifreyans go into for a few years before they reach their death day."

"... He's dying?"

"Sort of. Everything is at a minimum, his respiratory bypass must nearly be gone. He might wake up if I can reach his mind and ease him out; tell him he doesn't need to protect himself anymore."

Tchan nodded. "Good."

"You have your answers, and now you should go," Braxiatel suddenly said, still staring at his brother. "It's dangerous for you to know he's here. Leave, and forget him."

Tchan looked between the brothers, and only felt sympathy. Braxiatel had looked after them all in the prison for so long. Tchan would probably be dead without him. Now it was time to pay his debts.

"No," he started boldly, and Braxiatel looked up at him in surprise. "I'll help you. I won't tell anyone, I promise. You need help. _He _needs help."

Braxiatel gazed at him for a moment, considering, and then he just nodded. "Thank you."

* * *

They worked on a rota. Braxiatel had to leave more than he liked to sort out prison affairs, but on those occasions Tchan stayed with Thete. Not that anything ever happened. He just lay there, silent and still. He wasn't even breathing.

Everyone else questioned where Braxiatel was as he was around less and less these days, but Tchan just speculated with them. He kept Braxiatel's secret. The less people who knew about Thete the better. Those Judoon had been there to 'make sure' Thete was dead, and Braxiatel clearly would sooner give his own life than see his brother die. So Tchan was going to help him all he could.

Braxiatel had gone out to sort out the new arrivals when Thete finally stirred. Tchan was taken completely by surprise when Thete suddenly took a sharp intake of breath, jolting Tchan out of his daydream.

"H-hello?" Tchan stammered, leaning over the man. Thete's deep brown eyes opened, just slightly, his pupils fixing on Tchan. He tried to say something, but the sound died halfway through his throat.

"It's okay, you're okay," Tchan said quickly, hands in the air. He hadn't really prepared a speech for this moment and was finding himself completely caught off guard. "Braxiatel's here, he'll be back in a minute. My name's Tchan. You're Thete, aren't you? Braxiatel says you're his brother."

The man's eyes widened slightly and he tried to speak again, but he couldn't seem to be able to make coherent noises.

"It's okay, just relax," Tchan said, feeling like he was repeating the same lines over and over. "Something really bad happened to you but Braxiatel says you're gonna be okay."

All Thete could do was gaze at him. By now he'd given up trying to talk.

"We're in Volag-Noc," Tchan continued, searching for something else that could reassure the Time Lord. "The Judoon tried to take you but Braxiatel stopped them."

Thete managed a tiny nod. Then his eyes shut again as he slipped back into unconsciousness. He was still breathing.

Tchan was jittery for ten minutes, unable to remain seated until Braxiatel returned. When he did, Tchan immediately jumped to meet him at the door. "Braxiatel! He was awake!"

Braxiatel looked at Thete immediately. "Did he say anything? What did you say?"

"I told him who I was and where he was and that Braxiatel was looking after him," Tchan said quickly. "He couldn't really talk."

Braxiatel nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Tchan. You should leave to eat."

"Okay," Tchan replied, smiling at Braxiatel before he left out of the door.

Braxiatel dropped to sit by Thete immediately, resting his hand on his brother's hearts in turn. They were beating stronger. He checked his breathing next – he could feel small, warm breaths on the back of his hand from Thete's mouth and nose. They were both excellent signs that he was rising from the coma without too much of a problem.

For now, all Braxiatel could do was wait. He changed the bag on the feeding tube, and then sat down and stared at his brother, waiting.

* * *

It was dawn when Thete stirred again, a small moan escaping from his throat as his fingers began to flex. Braxiatel noticed immediately, leaning over him and watching his hands gently clench and unclench.

"Thete?" Braxiatel asked gently.

Then Thete opened his eyes, looking straight at Brax through sunken eyes. "Brax," he croaked.

"Theta," Brax said gently. "It's me."

"Please... not him," Thete suddenly whined.

"No, I'm here, it's really me," Brax said quickly.

"No, no, no... Not him, not _him_..."

Brax rested a hand on Thete's, leaning forward to look deeply into his brother's eyes. "I'm real, I promise I'm real. I'm here, Thete."

Thete groaned and raised his hand, struggling to keep it upright. Brax took it and held Thete's fingers to his temple, opening his mind completely to allow his brother to explore and confirm it was him.

Immediately Brax could feel Thete going through his memories of Thete's own childhood; of two brothers playing when Thete had been a tot. A much older Brax had taken time to look after his little brother and play with him, even when times had been rough in their House.

Brax watched the memories with him; of them both constantly in competition – always trying to better one another. Numerous fights with a perigosto stick and evenings filled with intelligent debate. They both watched the time Thete had fallen into the River Cadenflood and Brax had had to dive in and rescue him, after which they swore a pact never to tell their mother. Neither of them had.

Thete went even further back, back to his looming that Brax had watched, together with all of their cousins. The two brothers watched him come out; dripping and screaming as all of his cousins laughed and pointed at his belly button.

"Brax," Thete wheezed, dropping his hand.

"Hello," Brax replied, smiling.

"Hi," Thete said, but couldn't manage a smile.

Brax gazed at him for a moment, lying there so weak. "Can you access the healing coma?"

"No," Thete croaked.

"I'll help you in," Brax said, resting his fingers on Thete's temples. "Ease down, Thete."

He did, and within seconds he was in the coma. Brax drew back, and allowed himself to smile.


	26. Time Plays Silly Buggers

Chapter 26 – Time Plays Silly Buggers

Thete stayed in his coma and thankfully no Judoon came back to the Proclamation. Braxiatel had rigged up a radio to alert him if there were any ships docking, and so far there had been none. It seemed the Judoon weren't bothered with someone killing a few of them. Either that or they were so dysfunctional now that they hadn't even noticed.

Braxiatel had already started planning. Once Theta could be moved he had to leave, and Brax would go with him. Even if Thete regenerated he could be recovering for months, so they would have to find a hidden world where Thete could get better, and then Brax had no idea what they'd do next. But at least his brother would be safe.

But could he really leave Volag-Noc? There were people here who relied on him. People, who without him, would be torn apart by the other inmates. He couldn't just leave them. They'd have to go with him and Thete. He had no idea how he'd do that either. But keeping Thete safe was first and foremost. Everything else was secondary.

Braxiatel kept all of Thete's drips stocked and tended to his burnt skin. He was covered in first degree burns and his skin was dry and cracked. He had various scars – some relatively new, others quite old. He even had a scar that signified an appendectomy, which made Brax chuckle. There was no other damage, though.

He and Tchan were always in the room at some point, working on a rota. They both kept Thete a secret, even from friends. After six days, Brax was back in the room when Thete came to again; a lot more awake than he had been before. His eyes flickered open to see Brax, and he smiled weakly.

"Hey," he murmured.

"How are you feeling?" Braxiatel asked immediately. "You shouldn't have an energy deficit."

"No," Thete muttered, taking in a deep breath.

"Any pain?" Braxiatel asked next.

"No. What... What happened to me?"

"Alere flamman," Braxiatel replied, with a hint of anger. "They tried to kill you with alere flamman. By Rassilon, Thete, you were there for months. I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were in there. The Volag-Noc shields blocked you out."

Thete smirked slightly.

"Amusing?" Brax wondered seriously.

"Sympathetic Brax," Thete murmured. "The Universe must be ending."

Braxiatel chuckled at that. "I think it might just be. How did you get here?"

Thete frowned for a moment, trying to recall it. "... I think I had to complete a time loop."

"How long have you been here?"

"Hopefully twelve years."

"Why hopefully?"

"Because that means it's over and I can go home."

"Where is home?"

"My Tardis," Thete muttered. "With my family."

Brax looked surprised. "Really? Did they survive, then?"

"... No."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. But I married a human. She saved me... From myself. After the War."

Brax raised a small smile. "What's her name?"

"Rose. And I have a daughter, Leah, a son, Alex, and an adopted daughter, Kiana."

"Adopted?"

"She's Koschei's."

Brax's jaw dropped. "... You're joking."

"Nope."

"... He had a child?"

"Briefly, before we took her."

"That's unbelievable..."

Thete grinned at his expression. "I know. He's still alive."

"He survived the War?"

"He fob-watched through it."

Brax nodded again. "So... are we the only three left? You, me and Koschei?"

"Yeah."

"So... everyone else..."

Thete's eyes were filling up slightly. "... Yes."

Braxiatel moved off the subject, as it was clearly upsetting Thete. He'd do that another time. "I'll tell you what's odd," Brax began eventually. "You've still got mother's eyes. They've really stayed with you, haven't they?"

Thete nodded. "... She said the same."

Brax frowned. "What?"

"I had a zinox in my brain. It gave me her and father."

"... That must have been so brilliant."

Thete nodded. "... I didn't want her to leave," he whispered.

Brax nodded sincerely. "You're so different," he said quietly.

Thete looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "_I'm _different?"

Braxiatel rolled his eyes, smiling. "Time plays silly buggers with us all."

"That's more like it," Thete said, and the both of them laughed. "Why are you here?" he continued. "I thought... thought you were dead."

"Oh, I've been here for a while," Brax replied, suddenly losing eye contact with Thete. "I fell into a bad situation, Thete. I wiped out a species, the Deindum, which is why I was arrested, but..." He paused for a moment. "There was this human, Jason Kane. He was only trying to stop me from doing something terrible and I... Thete, I brainwashed his adopted son into killing him, just to keep him quiet. I've had years to think about that. I don't like the man I was."

"Yeah," Thete croaked, shuddering and closing his eyes. "I know."

"You've met Tchan," Brax continued. "The Proclamation are just falling apart, they're sending innocent people here because they've seen the wrong things. I've been looking after them."

Thete smiled at that. "Good," he said.

"We have to leave, though. You can't stay here."

Thete looked at him, still barely able to get his eyes fully open. "What?"

"The Judoon came to kill you. We have to get out of here. We'll find your family and I'll get you somewhere safe, I'll-"

Brax's remote suddenly began to beep an alert, and his eyes shot open, checking it.

"Someone's docking," Braxiatel muttered, and glanced at Thete. "I'll be back in five minutes."

* * *

The Master was frowning as they disembarked from the ship, stepping into Volag-Noc.

"What?" Jack asked seriously.

"I can feel two Time Lords," the Master replied, looking around cautiously. "There are two Time Lords here."

"Could be future you," Jack suggested.

"Perhaps," the Master muttered, and then began to walk down the corridor. Jack followed him, looking around the prison with every step.

"There are no guards here," Jack pointed out as they walked.

"Well done, Sherlock," the Master replied sarcastically.

Jack gritted his teeth, but kept his mouth shut as they kept walking through the corridors, following the Master's instinct...

"Stay back!" a voice suddenly yelled from behind them, a gun pointed straight at them... but it suddenly dropped and the man holding it looked at the Master, his jaw agape. "Koschei?"

The Master was stunned by the call of his name for a moment, taking a few moments until he registered the man standing in front of him. He nearly had a hearts attack and regenerated on the spot. "Braxiatel!?"

The man stepped forward, but didn't sheathe his gun. "I'd never mistake your pungent scent."

The Master didn't retort to that, just staring at Braxiatel. Jack was a little surprised at that, looking back at this 'Braxiatel', checking him up and down. He looked human, or at least humanoid, around 40 years old, combed blond hair and taped glasses and really very good looking in Jack's eyes.

"This is your doing, isn't it," Braxiatel continued seriously, gesturing to the room behind him. "Spit it out, Koschei, what did you do to him this time?"

The Master continued to stare at him. "Nothing, I swear, Brax," he said quickly.

"Yes, and do you take me for an imbecile, Koschei? And don't call me Brax."

"Sorry Braxiatel," the Master amended.

Jack looked between him and Braxiatel. The Master was utterly paralysed to the spot. He almost seemed to be _scared _of Braxiatel...

"Sorry, can I just..." Jack began, but Braxiatel took one look at him and raised his gun again, startled. Jack knew what it was immediately. "I'm immortal, I'm a fixed point, I'm okay. The Doctor's my friend, me and the Master are here to save him," Jack said quickly.

Braxiatel lowered the gun again. "You know Thete?"

"Yeah..."

"How do you know Thete?" Braxiatel asked immediately, defensive.

"I'm a family friend," Jack replied immediately. "I used to travel with him in the Tardis."

"What's his wife's name?" Braxiatel asked immediately, his eyes narrowed.

"Rose, she's Rose Tyler," Jack responded, and decided to add just in case that wasn't enough for Braxiatel. "They're got three kids, Leah, who's four, Alex is a year old and Kiana's a couple of months."

"He really _does_ know him," the Master said seriously to Braxiatel. "All your brother does is hang out with humans these days."

"Okay," Braxiatel said, and sheathed the gun.

"Did you say brother?" Jack asked again, stunned.

"Oh, sorry. My name's Irving Braxiatel. I'm Thete's older brother," Braxiatel said.

Jack just stared at him, his jaw agape. "What now?"

"Older brother," Braxiatel clarified, and noticed Jack's expression. "What's wrong?"

"He's a little slow," the Master muttered to Braxiatel.

"Be quiet, Koschei," Braxiatel said seriously. The Master immediately shut up.

"Sorry, I just thought you'd died in the Time War," Jack said apologetically.

"No," Braxiatel replied. "I was in here. They wouldn't let me out."

"Where are all the guards anyway?" the Master asked seriously.

"Gone," Brax replied. "Upped and left. It's been running on automatic ever since."

"Is the Doctor here?" Jack asked anxiously.

Braxiatel nodded sombrely. "He's not well."

"What's wrong with him?"

Brax suddenly turned very white. "Before they left us, the Proclamation gassed out the Level Seven prisoner block with... Alere flamman. That was six months ago."

The Master's eyes shot wide open, darting between Jack and Brax. "Really?" he asked, astonished.

Brax nodded sombrely. Even Jack felt ill. He knew what that was. He'd used it a few times.

"The Judoon came back a few weeks ago to make sure he was dead. I had no idea he was in there... But he's getting better."

As a silent invitation, glanced around the corridor and beckoned them into a nearby room. They followed him in to find the Doctor lying on the bed, attached to several machines and staring at them.

"Doctor!" Jack yelled in delight, running forward to the bed.

The Doctor smiled a weak smile. "Heeey, Jack."

Jack just grabbed him, hugging him and kissing him in absolute relief.

"Gerroff," the Doctor whined, too weak to push him away.

Jack just laughed at that and kissed him more. "It's you, it's really you!"

"Really is," the Doctor breathed out.

Jack still didn't let go. "Where's Rose and the kids!?"

"Safe," the Doctor wheezed.

"They're alive!?"

"Fine."

"Where are they?"

"So safe even I don't know," the Doctor replied.

"We were with your clone, he got to Torchwood with no memory of anything and I thought it was you," Jack said, his happiness making him speak at 100 mph. "But we had to leave him at the Proclamation, he's dangerous, he's..."

"Who, little old me!?" a voice suddenly came from the doorway. Everyone turned immediately to find the other Doctor standing in the doorway, his face completely white with black marks under red eyes. He had a gun in his hand, pointing straight at them.

"What!?" Jack gasped, letting go of the Doctor who tried to support himself with one arm, but it was too weak and he had to lay back down again.

"Stand down, Echo," a woman suddenly said from behind the other Doctor, and he immediately let go of the gun and dropped to the ground in a heap, unconscious. She stepped over him as she sauntered into the room, followed by a cluster of armed Judoon.

"No," Brax breathed at the sight of them, backing away towards his brother lying helpless on the bed.

"Every living Time Lord left in the Universe, standing in this room," the Shadow Architect mused. "You are a species far more trouble than you are worth."

"You want me," the Doctor breathed, still unable to get up. "Let these three go. They have done nothing to you."

"Neither have you!" Jack pointed out seriously.

"You have to leave," the Doctor moaned.

"No, have me instead," Jack said seriously to the woman. "I'm immortal, I'm so much more fun to torture."

"No, Jack," the Doctor insisted. "I'm the one they want. It's all about my family."

"It's got nothing to do with you!" Jack yelled. _"They _arrested you for no reason, _they _tortured you, _they _made your clone, _they _created the Echo generation, and now _their _creation is killing _them. _You haven't done anything wrong!"

"They tortured you?" Brax asked seriously, looking at the Doctor.

"Yeah they did! They tortured him, tested on Leah, harmed Alex in Rose's womb and made their lives a misery!" Jack spat, pointing at the Architect.

Brax's eyes narrowed, glaring at the Architect. "You harmed my brother and his family."

"For no reason!" Jack added. "He's had enough! Just take me instead!"

"I'd just like to point out, I'm the innocent bystander here," the Master interjected loudly.

"Oh, shut up you little Staazula," Brax swore, glaring at the Master. "And no one's doing the self-sacrifice thing, all right? We are all walking out of here with our lives intact."

The woman was unfazed by their bickering. "You, Doctor, have destroyed the Proclamation. My sisters are dead because of your time-meddling schemes. And that goes for all of you Time Lords. Justice must be done for what you have all subjected the Universe to. It's time to make the freethinking Time Lords extinct. We now have a Time Lord who obeys our commands, and we do not want you."

"He's not a Time Lord," the Master pointed out seriously, looking at the clone still lying on the floor.

The Architect ignored him. "Echo, stand up."

Immediately the clone opened his eyes, getting to his feet. He raised his gun at the four again without hesitation.

"Kill them," she ordered, and Echo instantly pulled the trigger.

* * *

**A/N: **I shall do replying of the reviewing this chapter! Questions, please give. The more difficult the better :D


	27. 12 Years Earlier

**A/N: **Phew. Life. I hate life. Got this and one more chapter I've managed to cobble together, I'm sorry it's so slow these days :(

* * *

Chapter 27 – 12 Years Earlier

**12 years earlier...**

"Doctor, message for you," Jack said urgently.

The Doctor drew back from kissing Rose, raising his eyebrow slightly. "Little busy," he replied with just a hint of sarcasm, before resuming what he was doing.

"Doc," Jack grated, pulling him off of Rose with a violent yank.

The Doctor yelped, almost stumbling over his own feet.

"___Ba-ba-ba bah, ba-ba-ba bah..." _the music continued in the background.

"Jack, what are you..."

"Doctor," Jack interrupted, grabbing him by the shoulders and pushing him into the wall, completely winding him.

"Jack!" Rose yelped in alarm, jumping forward but he held up his hand.

"Sorry. I'm under strict orders."

"By who?" the Doctor breathed.

"You."

"Um, what?"

"There's no time to explain. But you told me that on the 10th December 2012 at this exact time I had to give you a message. The message is this." He dug into his pocket and drew out the note he'd been given by the future Doctor so long ago, handing it to the present Doctor. "And you told me to tell you that it's a code ten."

The Doctor suddenly stiffened, staring at the note Jack had shoved in his hand.

"___So happy together..."_

"What does that mean?" Rose asked quickly.

The Doctor didn't answer her. He slowly opened the note, and read the words.

******The reign of Echo will begin.**

He stared unblinkingly at the paper, absolutely frozen on the spot.

"___Ba-ba-ba bah, ba-ba-ba bah..."_

"Doctor? Doctor!" Rose demanded of him, feeling the panic escalate in her husband.

He looked up at her, his eyes wide. "Kiana's in the TARDIS, right?"

"Yeah, what...?"

"Get Alex and go back to the TARDIS. I'll get Leah."

"What?"

"Do it, NOW!" he roared. Rose knew when not to mess with him and ran off at the speed of light, everyone staring at them, muttering to each other in confusion.

"___We're happy together..."_

"Leah!" the Doctor yelled, looking around the room.

"Daddy?" Leah appeared through the throng of the crowd, slightly apprehensive.

"Come here!" he ordered and instantly the little girl was at his side. He picked her up and glanced around for Rose who was already appearing back out of the transfixed crowd holding Alex. He nodded to her and turned to make back to the TARDIS in a hurry.

"Doctor!" Jack tried again, running after him out of the door to where the TARDIS was parked. "Doctor what's code ten?"

The Doctor again didn't reply, pushing open the door and beckoning for Rose to get inside. He set Leah down and gestured for her to run into the TARDIS.

"DOCTOR!" Jack yelled, trying desperately to be acknowledged.

"___So happy together..."_

The Doctor finally looked at him, regarding Jack standing there staring at him. His expression turned, his eyes suddenly saddening. Then to Jack's complete surprise he dived forward and hugged him tightly. After a few moments he drew back and stared at him a little more, hands resting on Jack's arms.

Then he let go, stepping back to the TARDIS.

"... See you in hell," the Doctor said, echoing the very words Jack had told him back on Satellite Five before Jack had walked to his death. And with that, he turned and ran into the TARDIS, slamming the door closed behind him.

"___Ba-ba-ba bah..."_

Jack just stared, utterly shocked before the TARDIS began to churn, and eventually faded from existence.

"___... Ba-ba-ba bah."_

* * *

The moment the Doctor dematerialised the TARDIS was bathed in aggressive red lighting, the cloister bell starting up in an urgent, persistent ring.

"Doctor!?" Rose yelped as Alex immediately burst into tears at the harsh sound. "What's happening!?"

The Doctor ignored her, stepping back from the console with his hands entangled in his hair, his eyes wide and terrified.

"Doctor!" she persisted, trying to calm the children down.

A holographic Doctor suddenly appeared right next to Rose, making her jump back a metre in alarm.

"_This is an automatic activation of emergency program two," _he said._ "Doctor, listen to me very carefully. This is a Code Ten. You have to do exactly as I tell you, or everything will be lost."_

"For god's sake, Doctor!" Rose exclaimed, still in a wedding dress and incredibly frustrated at her new husband. "Tell me what's goin' on!"

"Shush!" the Doctor demanded urgently, staring at his hologram.

"_The Shadow Proclamation have started one of the biggest catastrophes known by creating the Echo generation. It is made up of many of their previous prisoners, including you, Rose and Leah. A time-loop is in effect from now. You must go to the Proclamation and release everything in the clone room. Clone Leah will escape, clone Rose will die and your clone will be met by the Master, who destroys his memory implants and sends him to Jack. You must replace your clone self to let him flee. The Shadow Proclamation will deem you as a security threat and send you to Volag-Noc to hide their mistake. You must spend twelve years there under high security, until clone Leah destroys the Shadow Proclamation and the truth is discovered. There is no way to change this. Don't even try."_

The message ended, and suddenly all was so silent. Rose looked at the Doctor with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Leah, take your brother to the kitchen," she said softly to the girl.

"But..." Leah began in protest.

"No buts, do it," Rose said firmly, still staring at the Doctor. Leah harrumphed and made a big deal of it, but did what she was told and took her brother by the hand to lead him out.

The door closed, leaving the Doctor and Rose in the console room.

Rose just stared at him. It took a _very _long time for the words to come. "He didn't just say what I thought he said, did he?"

"Yeah," the Doctor muttered redundantly, his entire body sagging slightly.

"You have to go to Volag-Noc!?"

He nodded silently.

"For _twelve years!?"_

He nodded again.

"But... But you can't!"

"I can't change it..." he murmured to the floor. "I can't not..."

"Sod that!" Rose yelled, marching up to him. "Don't you go, don't you _dare _go!"

"Rose..."

"Don't tell me about time-loops and fixed events and all that rubbish!" she yelled, and the Doctor could clearly see tears in her eyes. "You're not goin'!"

"I..."

"You're _not goin'!" _she repeated, her eyes welling up even more.

"It's..."

"_You're not goin'!" _she almost _screamed_, pummelling his chest with her fists. He took her in his arms and held her to him, where she lost all of her fight and just began to cry relentlessly into his shirt. "You _can't_ go..." she sobbed.

They fell into silence. He had no words for her, his hearts feeling as though they might seize up and die in his chest. _He_ was going to cry now, his eyes welling up.

"Please don't do this," she eventually whispered.

"It's a time loop," he whispered in return, unable to speak normally as he was so scared his voice might crack and he'd burst into tears halfway through the sentence. "If I don't go..."

"I know, God, I know," she choked out, holding him so tightly, her head pressed against his chest where his two hearts beat away. "Oh God..."

He suddenly lost the ability to stand up, feeling like he'd just been shot. He slowly crumpled to the floor, curling in on himself, shaking badly.

"Oh God," Rose whined again, dropping down next to him to hold him. "This isn't happenin'. Tell me this isn't happenin'."

In response, he began to cry.

"Don't, don't cry, please," she begged, kissing him and hugging him tightly.

"I don't want to go," he gasped out.

"Then don't," Rose said quickly, pulling back. "Stay here with us, just hide..."

"It's a code ten," he sobbed. "I _have _to do what I say..."

"This isn't fair," she wailed. "You can't leave for twelve years!"

The Doctor sniffed, wiping under his nose with the back of his hand. "It'll only be a few days for you... You'll see me again in a few days."

"But it's still twelve years for you!"

"I know," he whined, his head dropping into his hands.

All fell silent for a very long time, the two of them just thinking, and crying.

"Okay," Rose finally said, getting to her feet. "Go to our room, get changed and wait for me. I'll put the kids to bed."

He looked at her through watery eyes. She just kissed him, and got up to do exactly that.

* * *

She stepped into their room with full intentions of going to her lingerie drawer to give him the best night of his life, but all thoughts of that immediately dissipated when she saw him lying on the bed. He was on his front in his pyjamas fast asleep, tear tracks down his face and his pillow wet. He'd cried himself to sleep.

She forgot the sex immediately, moving over to pull the cover fully over him. She then got changed and slipped into the bed beside him, sliding over so she could wrap an arm around his chest, her nose nuzzling his neck. He stirred at the movement, looking over. Their eyes met, and he leant forward to kiss her with every ounce of love he had in him.

When he drew back he just stared into her eyes, unblinking.

"I want to make love with you," he whispered sincerely.

"... _You_ want to have sex with _me?" _she asked seriously, astounded. He never had much of a sex drive, he only did it for her. But now here he was, asking for it.

"No," he replied seriously. "I don't want sex. I want to make love."

She nodded. "Okay," she replied, and immediately reached down to him.

"No," he said, stopping her. "I want this one to be for you."

She frowned. "Why?"

"Because I want you to remember me."

Then he leant forward and cupped her face gently, kissing her once again.

* * *

If she ever had any doubts about the difference between having sex and making love, this was the answer. She _knew_ this was making love. There was absolutely nothing animal about it. Everything was slow, gentle, and in perfect rhythm, like a two person dance that just seemed to happen spontaneously. There were no surprises, and there was none of the usual fumbles of repositioning, the agh's and ergh's when they had to switch places. There was no awkward dirty talk or anything at all with any kind of harsh edge – this was just love. Pure, true love.

When they were finished he just lay there holding her, running his fingers through her hair and staring at the ceiling. She looked up at him, surprised to see he was crying again. She reached up to wipe under his eyes with her thumb, frowning at him. She had never known him to cry for so long.

He looked at her the tears still rolling down his face. He took her chin in hand, pulling it up to him. His eyes ran around it, as if taking in every single detail to preserve in his memory.

It was then that everything neatly clicked into place in her head. "... Are you gonna... gonna die?"

He gazed at her, utterly sincere. "... I don't know."

"No," she whined and started crying again, wrapping her body around every bit of him to smother herself in him, her face on his neck, her lips pressed to his skin. Her arms were clamped around him and her legs entwined in his, their bodies slotted together into one perfect whole.

"If I don't come back, I don't want you to be alone," he whispered, holding her. "I've told Jack if I'm ever not around he should be father to the kids and your protector."

"There's only one father to my children," she whispered in return, digging her fingers into his hair. She wanted to never let him go. She wanted to be a part of him, inside him, inside his hearts and his soul. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," he whispered.

* * *

He stood in the TARDIS doorway the next morning, dressed in his brown suit, blue shirt and dark tie with white converse. Rose looked at him standing there, looking so forlorn, as though he might burst into tears at any second if the children weren't standing there too.

"Good luck," was all she could manage.

He sighed, glancing at the door separating him and his fate before looking back at the four of them, standing there staring at him. He moved forward to Rose holding Kiana, and kissed his wife and Kiana on the forehead.

"Remember," he said lowly to Rose, holding the nape of her neck. "Torchwood, three days. Don't go anywhere before then. Hide in the Tardis. She'll look after you."

As if to confirm approval, the TARDIS buttons flashed in sync and a jet of warm air hit them all where they stood. The Doctor looked at the central column and smiled slightly, before looking down at Leah and Alex stood there staring at him with wide eyes. He dropped to his knees and held out his arm, an invitation they both immediately took to run forward and hug him.

"I love you two so much," he said, kissing each of them in turn. "Be good for mum, be nice to everyone, be brilliant, be everything, okay?"

"Okay," Leah said, and kissed his cheek in return.

"Da," Alex said, looking up at him with watery eyes.

"It's okay," he insisted, smiling. "I'll see you in three days. That's a promise. Space Scout's honour. Blib blab blob!" He did a stupid gesture with his hands.

Alex and Leah both giggled at him, and he gave them one final squeeze hug before getting up, and looking back at Rose.

"Blimey," he muttered, running his hands through his hair and pulling an exasperated face.

Rose couldn't help but laugh, despite how much she wanted to cry. "... Three days," was all she said.

He nodded. "Be there," he said seriously, and started backing away towards the door, waving at them all.

"Bye Daddy, we love you," Rose started off, waving to him, and the kids followed suit. He gave one last laugh and genuine smile to them all, before taking a deep breath, opening the door, and stepping through.

Then he was gone, gone to commence the worst twelve years of his life.


	28. Regeneration

**A/N: ***drops chapter and runs off to work*

* * *

Chapter 28 – Regeneration

The moment Echo pulled the trigger, Braxiatel launched into action. He ducked the shot which hit the back wall in a torrent of flames, pulled the Doctor and the Master's hands onto Jack's manipulator and hit the button. In a whoosh and a scream of piercing sound in their eardrums they reappeared at the end of the corridor.

Brax dived to his brother, hauling him up into a piggyback. "You two board a ship and leave this place!" he ordered Jack and the Master.

"No!" Jack said immediately.

"Yes!" the Master inputted.

"No!" Jack repeated, more firmly.

"Yes," the Doctor croaked from over Brax's shoulder.

"The Master can go," Jack said, waving an uncaring hand. "I'm immortal, I don't care. Anyway, can't we just use this?" Jack asked, holding up the manipulator around his wrist.

"Not accurate enough," Brax responded, gazing at Jack. "Okay, sure?"

"Good bye!" the Master chimed, turning to leave the three.

"Yeah. I'll divert Echo," Jack said, completely ignoring the Master.

"I'll get Thete to safety," Brax said, also ignoring the Master. "We'll see you at the docks."

They both nodded at each other, and ran in opposite directions.

The Master watched them all go, and then watched as the Architect as her band of merry Judoon and crazy clone Doctor advanced towards him.

"Oh for Rassilon's _sake," _the Master whined, and ran in pursuit of Jack.

* * *

Brax ran with Thete down the corridor in the direction of the docks. It wasn't until he saw the shadows and heard the footsteps of Judoon coming from in front of him did he stop and desperately search for an escape. He had them coming from behind him and in front of him, and the only way out was to the side, where the big red door sat, ominous and terrifying.

He didn't have a choice, he went to it, and rested a hand on the opening mechanism.

"No," the Doctor whined in his ear.

"It's okay," Braxiatel insisted. "Trust me."

He pulled open the door, and stepped inside.

Instantly he could feel his skin burning. The remains of the alere flamman even from six months ago was still hanging in the air. It felt like the most excruciating sunburn, blistering all over his body. But he couldn't stop.

He checked every window as he progressed down the corridor – some were empty inside, and others contained half burnt aliens – clearly dead.

There was only one room unlocked. Right at the end, one door sat, ominous and towering above the others.

He went to it. There wasn't even a window. He ran in quickly, shutting the door before doing anything else so the gas was kept to a minimum. The door hissed shut and Brax found himself in the dark and eerie silence. The walls were soundproof and it was pitch black.

He gently put his brother down on the floor and pulled out a torch, panned slowly across the blackness.

An oubliette was in the centre of the room, the hatch dislodged. Brax could hear dripping water inside. He looked at Thete, and then back at the oubliette.

"No, don't say it," Braxiatel croaked.

"Get me out," the Doctor whined, _begging _him. "Please..."

"No, it's okay," Brax assured him in a whisper. "We're just here for a few minutes."

"Brax, please, I don't want to be here again..."

Brax swallowed nervously, kneeling down next to the Doctor. "It's not for long," he said.

To his alarm, the Doctor's voice was suddenly wavering. "Please Brax..."

Brax sat down next to him, resting a hand on his brother's chest where his two hearts were beating away. "So, tell me about your family. Rose, wasn't it? What's she like?"

"Don't try and distract me," the Doctor muttered, his eyes fused shut.

"I'm afraid it's happening," Brax replied seriously. "Tell me about this new family of yours."

"No, Brax," the Doctor moaned.

"Come on. We do need to catch up at some point. It might as well be now," Brax jested.

"Not now, Brax," the Doctor begged.

Brax sighed quietly. "Okay."

He pulled the Doctor's unrelenting body towards him, an arm around his shoulders with a hand still on his hearts, just to double-check he was still going.

"You're hugging me," the Doctor murmured. "Brax never hugged me."

"Well, this is what years of Volag-noc, repent and seeing your little brother who you thought was dead and rotted does to you," Braxiatel insisted.

"... You're not real, are you? You're another Zinox."

As a form of response, Braxiatel flicked his finger in the centre of the Doctor's forehead on the glabella, right in the middle of a nerve. The Doctor jumped and winced badly.

"Brax!" he whined.

"Not real, am I?" Brax asked seriously.

"Don't do that."

"I'll do what I wish, thank you very much."

The Doctor sighed. "It has to be you. You're just as annoying."

Braxiatel chuckled at that, but suddenly shut up, as did the Doctor. Their acute Gallifreyan hearing could hear the Judoon footsteps as they passed by the end of the cell block. Braxiatel pulled his brother to him, holding his head to his chest. They both held their breath, and waited.

* * *

Jack was running, and he was very aware the Master was right behind him. The Master was becoming a bit of a pain, to be honest. Like a bad smell following Jack wherever he went. In hindsight, Jack hadn't actually needed the Master to get here, but that couldn't exactly be changed now.

Jack kept running until he reached a split in the corridor, and looked back behind him. There was the Master hot on his heels, coming to a stop next to him.

"I thought you left?" Jack asked seriously between pants for air.

"I would if I could," the Master assured him.

"There's a dock over there filled with ships," Jack pointed out airily.

"Oh yes," the Master began sarcastically with a despairing sigh. "A dock probably filled to the brim with angry Judoon who are trying to kill me because the Doctor has annoyed them so much they now want to kill my entire race – which only numbers two, by the way."

"Six, including the kids," Jack replied seriously.

The Master scoffed. "Braxiatel and I are the last pure-blooded Gallifreyans in the Universe. Theta and his conglomeration of halflings are a poor excuse for Gallifreyans – spawn of the Pythia."

"Didn't your Gallifreyan mother ever teach you manners?" Jack spat. "They all have two hearts, Kiana is _your _daughter."

"I've got two stomachs, it doesn't make me a starfish."

Jack just glared at him. "How on _Earth _has nobody killed you for being a complete prick, yet?"

"A mystery, isn't it?" the Master replied with a sly smile on his face.

Running footsteps suddenly came from the end of the corridor, and Jack and the Master finally stopped bickering long enough to look up to see Echo, running straight towards them. Jack and the Master were off again instantly, only just about avoiding a shot. They ran into a new corridor cells lined up side by side with a menagerie of convict lifeforms locked inside. The moment Jack and the Master entered they all burst into a cacophony of screams and yells, long arms reaching through bars to try and get them. They stayed in the middle, and ran as fast as they possibly could.

"Come back, Jack! Master!" Echo yelled from somewhere behind them, somehow audible over the ruckus. "It's only me!"

"Fuck," Jack swore as they reached the end of the corridor, his eyes darting around for an escape. He went right.

"Why do you keep running from me, Jack and Master? I thought I was your friend!"

Jack halted, looking back and biting his lip.

"What are you _doing? _Keep running!" the Master bellowed, grabbing Jack by the arm as he ran past to keep going down the corridor.

"You both saved me, Jack and Master!" Echo continued, his voice echoing down the corridors. "I never said thank you! Please stop so I can _thank _you!"

Jack swore three times in quick succession again as they both turned left, and _ran._

* * *

Brax and the Doctor continued to wait, paralysed into position.

As soon as Braxiatel felt safe enough, he picked up his brother and started off again, emerging out of the poisoned Screaming Souls block to the corridor once more. He couldn't see any Judoon, so he moved forward, ever so quietly in the direction of the docks again.

"Thete? How are you feeling?" he whispered urgently as they progressed.

"Tired," came the murmur from over his shoulder.

"Good," Brax responded. Being tired was a lot better than some other things he could be, although Brax would have to ensure every last bit of alere flamman was washed out of his brother's system before they could even _consider _regeneration. "You can sleep soon, we must find a ship-"

"Halt!" came a bellow, and immediately Brax found himself stopped by a crowd of Judoon.

"No, stop!" Brax began in protest, but in response they all simultaneously raised their guns and fired.

Brax ducked, the weight of his brother on his back nearly causing him to fall flat on his face. He struggled back up again and continued running as fast as he could in an alternate route to the docks, but with every corridor he turned there were more of them waiting in the shadows.

He ran and he ran until he finally had to stop in a corridor with several walkways overhead, gasping for breath. He couldn't keep on playing the mouse in this pathetic game. He was a Time Lord for Rassilon's sake, and it was time to start using that.

He put down his brother, who looked at him through thin slits of eyes, confused.

"Trust me, Thete," Brax said gently.

The Doctor's eyes widened immediately as he realised what Brax was about to do...

"No," he whined. "Please, no..."

"It's okay," Brax assured him. "I've got enough bodies left."

"You can't," the Doctor gasped.

"It's our only chance. Don't move."

He stood over his brother in a protective stance, who was just lying on the floor, panting. Brax waited until the corridors filled with Judoon. He took a steely breath, opened his arms out, and was immediately shot six times from different angles.

The pain was immediate. It had been a while since he had felt this. The sheer agony overtook him as every projectile hit his body in a different place, blood flying out everywhere. Three in his chest – his lungs and one of his hearts, one in his stomach and the two in his limbs. He took the pain for as long as he could, and then started his regeneration.

* * *

Jack and the Master toppled onto a gantry just in time to see Braxiatel be shot. Jack gasped and the Master just stared at the sight below them, his jaw agape.

"Brax!" Jack yelled, and the Time Lord began to regenerate. He exploded out in a regeneration quite similar to the Doctor's, gold and silver light streaming from his head and arms. From his position the crowds of Judoon either side of him were caught in the regenerative flow from his arms, immediately ripping them all apart on the spot and blowing the ones at the back into the metal walls where they shattered like breaking glass.

"Holy..." Jack began in shock, before he caught sight of the Doctor reaching desperately up to Brax, crying out for his brother. "Doc! Stop!" Jack yelled, but there was absolutely no way the Doctor could have heard him.

Brax finished, the light dissipating before he staggered forward, a new man. He panted a few times, running his hand down his face and through his hair before looking at the corridors in turn. No Judoon left.

"Brax," the Doctor gasped.

"Thete!" Brax turned and dropped to him immediately, energy still tingling slightly on his skin. "We've got to move."

"Braxiatel!" Jack called down, and Brax abruptly looked up to the gantry above, surprised to see them.

"Did you..." he began, before his eyes drifted to the right of where Jack was standing. Jack followed his gaze.

There was Echo, running straight towards him and the Master. Within a nanosecond the Master was off, leaving Jack there to back away slowly from Echo...

Then there was the sound of a door closing, right behind Jack. Jack risked a glance over his shoulder, and found the Master had gone through the door and _locked it behind him._

"MASTER!" Jack yelled in a rage, still backing away from Echo until there was nothing left to back onto.

Echo stepped forward. Then he threw his gun over the side and rolled up his sleeves. He got into a stance – left foot in front of his right, his right arm under his chin and the left extended.

"You don't have to do this," Jack said gently.

Echo didn't reply to that, his eyes fixed on Jack. Intimidating. "Hit me."

"I'm not hitting you," Jack said seriously, holding his position.

"HIT ME!" Echo yelled, and threw out a punch. It caught Jack off guard, sending him straight to the ground. He got up immediately, his nose immediately broken.

"I'm so sorry," Jack gasped, grasping at the rails. "Really..."

Echo punched him again, right in the stomach. Jack doubled-over, winded, before Echo axe kicked his head and he hit the floor, dazed.

Echo grabbed his shirt and pulled him up with an unbelievable strength, slamming him against the rail hard. He felt a bit of his spine crack out of place and he cried out, watery eyes struggling to get a focus. When Jack finally saw Echo's face, there was utterly nothing but pure malice. He was going to _kill _him.

Echo threw him onto the gantry floor again, kneeling down and grabbing his head in both hands, slamming it three times onto the metal.

"FIGHT ME!" Echo demanded.

"No," Jack choked out.

Echo _screamed _with rage, slamming Jack's head into the metal again and again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Jack repeated over and over again somewhere in-between his head hitting the metal.

"_Sorry!?" _Echo shrieked. "Sorry doesn't mean _anything! _You're _always _sorry!"

He jumped to his feet again, just watching for a moment as Jack's blood dripped down through the holes in the grating to the floor twenty feet below. Jack could only lie there, moaning on the floor.

"You _left _me," Echo grated, furious. "You _abandoned me!"_

"No," Jack whined, but Echo ignored him. Echo just reached forward, grabbed Jack's neck, and threw him over the railing of the gantry.

Jack bounced off of several hard objects in his demise with varying volumes of cracks and snaps until he finally reached the cold, hard metal floor thirty feet below, crying out in pain. He dragged himself to his feet, stumbling on several broken limbs. The pain was excruciating, but he continued on, stumbling backwards to follow Brax and the Doctor.

Echo wasn't dissuaded. He simply climbed onto the rails and stood there with impeccable balance, gazing down at Jack as though hunting a piece of meat. He then jumped off to land in a roll where Jack's blood had gathered, the puddle of blood splattering everywhere. He rose to his feet, and strode towards Jack with his fists clenched, not a hair out of place.

"Keep running, Jack!" he implored. "I can run too!"

Jack reached the doorway, stumbling through and hitting the hand scanner. Echo sped up but didn't quite make it before the door fully closed and deadlocked. Jack immediately hit the floor, gasping.

"I'm gonna _kill you _Jack Harkness!" Echo roared from the other side, banging repeatedly on the impenetrable door. "I'll find you and I'll _tear_ you apart!"

The banging stopped, and Jack listened as footsteps moved away from the door, echoing until all became silent.


	29. Brax and Koschei

**A/N: **Risk after risky after risk. I'm a risky gal. :o AAARGH!

* * *

Chapter 29 – Brax and Koschei

Jack reached the docks seven minutes later fully healed, where a new-bodied Brax was waiting by one of the ships. He saw Jack immediately.

"Up here!" he yelled, and Jack ran up the ramp and into the ship. There he found the Master at the helm of the controls, ready to go. He could have punched him in the face.

The Doctor was sat in one of the seats, shaking. Braxiatel was fully regenerated into a brown-haired man with grey eyes, the clothes he was wearing now slightly undersized now Brax had a larger frame than before. He was in the midst of rummaging through a Green Moon first aid kit to check his brother over as the ship lifted off.

"Brax," the Doctor moaned, trying to bat him away. "I'm fine."

Brax rolled his eyes and completely ignored him, pressing a stethoscope to the Doctor's chest. He then checked the Doctor's pulse.

"You're running a little fast," Brax muttered, checking pupil dilation next. "Your blood pressure's not very good."

"Thanks," the Doctor muttered.

Brax smiled a little at that. "You might be going septic." He pulled out an ear thermometer next, checking body temperature. "Oh, that's not good," he muttered, staring at the readout.

"What?" Jack asked, sitting next to the Doctor.

"Low, very low. Why didn't you say?" Brax said seriously.

"We _were_ a little busy," the Doctor pointed out.

"Don't move," Brax said seriously, running off to retrieve a blanket. Jack sat down next to the Doctor, letting out an exhausted sigh as he splayed his limbs, lulling his head back.

"Long day," Jack muttered.

The Doctor smiled at that. "Long twelve years."

"You were _really_ in there for twelve years?" Jack wondered.

The Doctor nodded.

"All for a time loop," Jack murmured.

The Doctor nodded again. "I had to. I didn't want to."

"So where are Rose and the kids?"

"When I left they had to stay in the Tardis so they wouldn't get caught up in anything," the Doctor said. "They've been in the vortex, hiding."

"For twelve years?"

"It's been three days for them. I made sure of that."

"Else Leah would be sixteen when you saw her again," Jack supposed. "When are they coming out?"

"They're meeting me at Torchwood," the Doctor said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath "... I miss them so much," he whispered.

Jack nodded solemnly, pulling him into a hug. "I know. It's nearly over. We're heading back to Earth."

"Oh no," the Doctor whined, pulling back and looking as though he was about to cry. "We can't."

"What?"

"We have to go to the Proclamation."

"What?" Brax asked, reappearing in the doorway holding a blanket. "Theta, don't be so silly."

"No," the Doctor insisted as Brax threw the blanket over him. "This has gone too far. They're committing genocide. We have to stop them before they kill any more people. Besides, the clone of my daughter is still running around killing them. We have to stop her."

"I admire the altruism but are you insane?" Brax asked seriously, kneeling down in front of his brother.

"Just about," the Doctor replied seriously, his eyes still closed.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want them to do this either but we can't take on the Proclamation. We're what, three? Not even three, with you in this condition. More like two-and-a-half. Two-and-a-half versus the Proclamation – they'll blow us out of the sky."

"Who says we're fighting?" the Doctor asked seriously, opening his eyes to look at Brax.

Brax stared at him. "What are you suggesting?"

"They're scared, that's all. If we can talk to them, we might be able to resolve this."

"_Talk!?" _Brax repeated, astonished.

"He's very good at it," Jack put in, but was shaking his head too. "We can't reason with them. There's too much hate, now."

"You lost your marbles in Volag-Noc, Theta," Braxiatel said seriously.

"Please, Brax. Trust me," the Doctor begged.

"We can't fight _or _talk them," Braxiatel said firmly. "Especially now they've got a Gallifreyan under their command. It's suicide. I can't let you put yourself in that kind of danger."

Jack swallowed nervously. "Is Echo dangerous?"

"Yes, if they know how to use him," Braxiatel replied seriously.

"How's that?"

"Biogenics," the Doctor muttered.

Braxiatel nodded and continued. "He's born from Thete's DNA; there's an instant connection there. They've got Thete's genetic make up – maybe not 100 percent accurate but it's enough. They have his blood, his skin, his everything. If they have Thete's triple helix then they can start a _war_. If they know how to use him, they'll kill you as soon as you step in, Thete."

The Doctor wrenched open his eyes again, gazing at Brax. "We have to go. Please. Trust me," he begged.

Brax sighed. He knew it wasn't even a remotely good idea.

"Is there any way I can talk you out of this?" he asked seriously.

The Doctor looked at him, a small, weak smile tugging at the edge of his lips. "No."

Brax sighed, adjusting his glasses. He couldn't really deny him. "Okay. For you, Theta. Koschei!" he called into the bridge. "Plot a course for the Proclamation!"

"What!?" the Master asked seriously, appearing in the doorway.

"Just do it," Braxiatel sighed.

"But..."

"Plot the course, and be quiet. This doesn't involve you," Brax replied seriously, and the Master promptly shut his mouth and went back to the cockpit.

Jack watched him go gleefully. "Oh, I love how you make him do that."

Braxiatel smiled at him. "I remember when he was a tot. Smelly thing, he was. He had this scowl."

"Lazy eye," the Doctor corrected.

"Something like that," Braxiatel dismissed.

Jack and the Doctor both laughed.

"So, taking down the Shadow Proclamation," Braxiatel summarised.

"We do things like this for breakfast most days," Jack assured him.

Braxiatel looked at him disbelievingly.

"Really!" Jack insisted.

"With Rose?"

"Yep," Jack answered as the Doctor stiffened. "And the kids, too."

"So how did you meet Rose?" Braxiatel wondered.

The Doctor looked at him, still huddled in the blanket. "After the War... I was lost and lonely and angry, I didn't know where to go or what to do. I wanted to go home but it wasn't there any more. I wanted to die but I didn't want to kill myself. I'd just given up trying to live, when the Tardis took me to Earth. I don't know if she knew or she meant to or if it was an accident, but I stayed there. I started saving people. Just ordinary people. People on the Titanic, things like that. I felt better when I did that. I just kept doing it, over and over, not even for any reason, until the Autons came. That was when I met Rose in a shop in London. She was doing the lottery money for the shop assistants and I nearly blew up the building with her in it. I told her not to come near me, but she kept following me. It was so... so _strange_ how she wasn't even scared of me. When I saw her again she saved my life, and I asked her to travel with me. She did. And she straightened me out."

"She sounds astounding."

"She's saved my life so many times," the Doctor said quietly. "I love her, Brax."

"Nothing wrong with that," Brax insisted.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Not going to moan about Gallifreyan law or anything?"

Brax chuckled. "Not these days, believe me. Besides, it's quite hard to hold up the laws of a planet that only has six people in its race, hmm?"

He meant it as a joke, but the Doctor immediately fell silent. Brax's face fell, looking at Jack who had his eyes to the floor.

Brax slowly extended a hand and rested it on the Doctor's hand. "Thete, I have to ask..."

"What happened to Gallifrey?" the Doctor supposed in a mutter.

"Yes..."

The Doctor looked at him for a fleeting second, and then at Jack, and then at the floor as he closed his eyes once more. Suddenly everything became so quiet. There only seemed to be the sound of the ship's engines, which had somehow also quietened. It was as though every single thing in the Universe had stopped – stopped to listen to the Doctor's answer.

When it came, it was barely audible.

"... It burnt."

Brax nodded, just once. He took his hand away, and stood up fully. "Get some rest. We've got a long way to go."

The Doctor didn't argue as Brax wrapped an arm around him, pulling him to his feet. Immediately the Doctor's legs just seemed to fold from beneath him and Jack only just about caught him.

"All right?" Jack asked him quickly, but he'd spontaneously fainted, his eyes closed.

"Low blood pressure," Brax muttered. "Get him to a bed."

They carried him to the sleeping quarters where they both settled him into a bed, Brax checking his hearts again.

"I wish I could help him more," Brax admitted, his brow furrowed.

"How bad is this?" Jack asked quietly.

"The alere flamman has attached itself to his very blood cells. He needs a complete blood wash. Until then it's still inside him, trying to burn his insides. He cannot regenerate whilst it's still in his system. He will just burst into flames and burn to death."

Jack winced, feeling something unpleasant rising in his throat at the thought.

"I can't do anything else," Brax continued, still gazing at his brother. "This is his fight. I can't even give him a painkiller. But if he becomes septic..."

He trailed off, as if the following thought was too horrific to contemplate.

Jack looked at him. "What?" he prompted.

"... We will have to take him to a hospital."

Jack's eyes shot wide open in horror. "But we can't. The Proclamation will..."

"If he becomes septic, he might go into septic shock. Ten minutes with our eyes off him and he could be dead... For good."

"Doesn't he have a defence?" Jack asked urgently. "Some kinda Gallifreyan trick? There's gotta be something."

"He's used every defence he has, but Thete's still half-human. He's delicate. Koschei and I could handle this, but not Thete."

"You could?" Jack wondered, confused. "Aren't you...?"

Brax chuckled quietly. "No, we're half-brothers. We share the same father, but Thete's mother was a human. You know them from the zinox, don't you?"

Jack nodded.

"I was loomed long before her and our father met. She came from the 19th century on Earth. Before she met him, she created the time machine. On her first trip out she went to 1996 and Thete says her met her and took her back to her real time," he said, smiling at the thought. Jack smiled too. "Then she met our father and they married. They wanted a child together, so they secretly used a Loom to help along an interspecies pregnancy. Our father arranged to have Theta loomed into the House of Lungbarrow to hide him from the High Council. Rassilon knows what they would have done to Thete if they had known. But from what I found out later he was being watched by the Chancellory Guard _and _the Celestial Intervention Agency from the moment he was loomed."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But I found the files when I fiddled in the matrix when Thete was older. They had procedures in place to have him executed if he stepped out of line. I do not know what's special about him but clearly there was something they were scared of."

"Yes, like he'd grow up to commit the worst atrocity since the War Lord?" the Master wondered, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Brax frowned. "What?"

Jack fumed, standing up to get between the Master and the two brothers. "Shouldn't you be doing something else?" he grated.

"He doesn't know?" the Master asked in disbelief, laughing.

"Go back and do your job, Koschei," Brax said quietly.

"But Braxiatel, it's such a _great _story..."

"Mouth, shut," Brax ordered, and pointed to the cockpit. The Master sighed and disappeared at Braxiatel's command.

Jack and Brax's eyes met. Jack felt a little more than uncomfortable.

"I don't want to know," Brax said quietly, looking back at his brother. "Not now I've just found him again."

Jack just nodded, and shut his mouth.

* * *

The Doctor woke up, feeling almost hypothermic. He was shaking involuntarily, utterly freezing and felt sick to his stomach. He opened his eyes ever so slightly, to find himself in the sleeping quarters of the ship in the dark... But he let out a shocked gasp when he realised someone was standing over him, a gun in hand.

"Jack?" he asked quietly.

The person noticed him, and stepped forward into a bit more light.

It was the Master.

"Mas... ter?" he managed to moan out, his words becoming more and more slurred.

"Hello, _Theta," _the Master said, spitting out his nickname like it was something disgusting he'd just eaten, dropping to sit on the bed beside him. "Have a nice sleep?"

"What... What d'you want?"

"Just a friendly chat, don't look so scared," he joked, that horrible emotionless smile appearing on his face.

"Why should I... I be scared of you?" the Doctor shot back with malice, his brow furrowed.

The Master raised an eyebrow, and suddenly launched forward to grab the Doctor's neck with one hand. The Doctor panicked slightly, desperately trying to reach up and grab his hand to get it away from his neck but his arms were far too weak.

"Get off," the Doctor rasped.

"Or what?" the Master challenged, squeezing slightly. "You'll call your big bro? Big brother Brax will come and save the day, right?"

"D-don't involve him in your ego crisis," the Doctor gasped, staring at him hard.

The Master was angry now, placing the gun he held right in the middle of the Doctor's forehead.

"_I'm _in charge, here," he grated.

"There, ego crisis," the Doctor repeated, staring him down some more. "Koschei feels he's... he's lost c-control so has to pick on the one that c-can't move."

"Shut up!" the Master implored, pushing the gun harder into his forehead. "Don't say _anything. _I _own _you."

A cold chill spread its way up through the Doctor's spine. Those words were painfully familiar coming from the Master's lips. The Doctor didn't reply to that.

"There," the Master said, smiling down at him. "Remembered how it works, clearly. Still obeying me, I see."

"Still a c-complete idiot, I see," the Doctor responded simply.

The Master fumed and smacked the Doctor on the side of the head with his gun, hard. The Doctor was knocked out immediately, and the Master grabbed the Doctor by his shirt and threw his helpless body onto the floor in a heap. He was about to break his neck, but he couldn't let himself...

"Don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him," the Master muttered to himself over and over, pacing up and down in front of the Doctor's unconscious form. "Not yet, not yet, this is too easy..."

He heard the Doctor stir, and he spun around to face the other Time Lord again, so angry there was spittle on his lip. He watched the Doctor's eyes flicker open, and look up at him – for a moment dazed. Then his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows lowered.

"Gonna beat up... beat up the one who can't fight back?" the Doctor spat, unable to move. "What a display of... of authority."

The Master snapped.

"Shut up!" he yelled in frustration, kicking the Doctor in the side as hard as he could muster.

The Doctor coughed with the kick, curling in to try and protect himself. The Master kicked him some more until the Doctor curled up so tight he couldn't get his foot in anymore. In response to that the Master grabbed his arm held it to the ground and stamped hard on his wrist. It took a few stamps to break his Gallifreyan bones but on the fourth try it went.

"I'm the best! I win! I always win!" the Master shrieked, twisting the broken wrist with sadistic delight.

The Doctor screamed in pain, and immediately the door burst open and Jack appeared. It took precisely half a second for him to fathom what was going on, so he grabbed the Master from behind and threw him head-first into the wall so hard the entire ship jolted. The Master crumpled to the floor, immediately knocked out.

"What the hell...!" Jack gasped, looking at the Doctor on the floor cradling a clearly broken wrist.

The Doctor looked up at him, his face a mixture of pain and pleading. "Don't tell Brax," he gasped, his eyes watering. "He'll go mad."

"Brax knows," Brax grated suddenly from the doorway, marching in like a man on a mission. He moved straight to the Master, looking absolutely furious.

"No," the Doctor begged.

"I think yes."

"No," Jack echoed the Doctor, standing in front of Brax with his hands in the air. "We need him for the time loop."

Brax sighed. "Fine," he said, and dropped down next to the Master, flipping him over onto his back and placing a fist in the middle of the Master's left shoulder just as he came to, blood running down his face from a wound in his head.

"Looi'af ce so eril ce'opina," Brax spat into his face as the Master's eyes opened.

"Ei'verrga'qe aluba eon'palo joh'ei n'terr tara korkkug ko piha'ce'era," the Master shot back, that sickening smile reappearing.

Brax fumed, his eyes shooting through with fire. "Eon'af erro. Qe ih!"

"Fami'eon."

Brax didn't move his gaze from the Master as he addressed his brother. "Theta, qe'af orre?"

The Doctor swallowed nervously. He didn't answer the question directly. "... Naqu lei'o g'eh ko, Braxiatel," he begged, his voice trembling with pain.

Braxiatel was shaking now with pure rage. "Eon _staazula!" _he screamed in the Master's face, and slapped him viciously.

"Braxiatel!" the Doctor begged, struggling to sit up, but Brax wasn't listening. The Doctor looked pleadingly at Jack. "Please stop him, he's going to kill him!"

"I'm not going to kill him, Thete," Brax said seriously in English, getting to his feet and brushing himself down. "Time's more important than him."

He turned, and went to his brother. The Master immediately dived for his gun, held it at Braxiatel, and pulled the trigger, but Jack had spotted him and managed to knock his hand to the side. The bullet ricocheted off of the wall and planted itself in a crate by the door.

"That's it!" Braxiatel bellowed, put his fingers to the Master's temple and instantaneously completely paralysed him. Then he dragged him out of the door.

"Jack, don't let him kill him!" the Doctor begged, so Jack ran after the two Time Lords just in time to see Brax throw the Master into and airlock and seal it.

"You can't," Jack begged him urgently, seeing what he was about to do as Brax raised a hand on the button that would open the outside door.

Braxiatel let out a huff at Jack's words, and pulled away his hand. He then tapped a few buttons and the door completely sealed. He then walked away in a calm stride, back to his brother who was still lying on the floor unable to get up.

"Sealed him in the airlock, he can stay there for a while," Braxiatel informed the Doctor, picking him up carefully and placing him back on the bed before he pulled away his clothes to check the damage. "What was he talking about?"

The Doctor didn't reply, his breath coming out in stutters through the pain.

"Theta," Brax said sternly, no hint of humour left in his eyes. "Tell me what he was talking about. What did he do to you?"

"It's nothing," the Doctor breathed.

"Do _not_ lie to me, Theta," Braxiatel warned. It took Jack aback – he looked and sounded exactly like Ulysses.

The Doctor glanced at Jack. Jack gestured to the door, knowing there were things that the Doctor had never told him about what had happened and probably didn't want him to hear. "I'll leave you two and... I'll go," he paraphrased, and made towards the door.

"No," the Doctor suddenly said. "No, Jack, stay here."

Jack frowned. "Are you sure?"

He nodded. "Please, stay."

Jack did, and as slowly and in as few words as possible, the Doctor explained exactly to his brother what the Master had _really _done to him in the Year That Never Was.

When the Doctor was finished talking and bandaged up, Brax and Jack left without another word to let him sleep. Jack followed Brax, who went straight to the airlock and peeked in the window the Master was still paralysed on the floor.

"Braxiatel," Jack said from behind him. "You can't kill him."

Braxiatel looked back at him. "I won't kill him. I'll hurt him, but I won't kill him."

Jack frowned. "What?"

Brax picked up the comm and held it to his lips. "Hello, Koschei, it's Braxiatel here. My brother just told me a story I didn't really like. It involved you. I think you know which one. I'm not going to forgive you for what you did to him on the Valiant, so I'm going to even things out instead so we can call a truce. Let's see, this is an airlock, so what can I do apart from kill you? How about... nothing to breathe?"

"No, Brax," Jack said immediately.

"Jack's worried, Koschei, so I'll just explain to him," Brax continued into the comm, flicking a few switches. "Jack, it's all right. He's a Time Lord; he'll be perfectly fine with nothing to breathe all night – there are get-outs he can use. They'll hurt, of course, but he'll live... Barely."

Jack frowned. "He'll be all right?"

"Of course. As long as he gets his air back before 1pm tomorrow then he'll be fine."

Jack looked at Brax, then at the window where the Master was still trapped. Suddenly every piece of hate Jack had ever felt for the Master was boiling in his blood, added to by the Doctor's story tonight. It made sense. It made a lot of sense. Braxiatel was a rational man. The Doctor had disowned the Master.

That man in the airlock mattered to no one, and Jack wanted him to _suffer._

"... What else can we do?" was all Jack asked.

Braxiatel smiled, hitting a few more buttons and commentating on what he was doing to both the Master through the comm and Jack. "Temperature up, air pressure increased, and let's open that outside door a little bit, hmm?"

He finished and looked in the window again where the Master still laid. "You're in for an unpleasant night, Koschei. See you in the morning."

He shut off the comm, and simply walked away with Jack in tow. Neither of them felt a shred of guilt.

* * *

Translation

Looi'af ce so eril ce'spina – Looks like the weed found a backbone

Ei'verrga'qe aluba eon'palo joh'ei n'terr tara korkkug ko piha'ce'era – I ripped it from your brother when I imprisoned and tortured him for a year

Eon'af erro. Qe ih – You're lying. You're weak

Fami'eon – Ask him.

Theta, qe'af orre? - Theta, is this true?

... Naqu lei'o g'eh ko, Braxiatel - … Please don't kill him, Braxiatel

Eon _staazula! _- You _bastard!_


	30. The Truth Will Out

Chapter 30 – The Truth Will Out

They were four days into their six day journey to the Proclamation.

The Master remained locked in the airlock for all of that time. Neither Jack nor Brax had cared enough to even discuss him, and even the Doctor seemed to have better things to think about than ask where the Master had gone.

Jack could swear the Doctor was getting better. He was walking around unaided, if only for short bursts, but it was still progress. Although when he had said this to Brax, the Time Lord had just smiled and guided his brother back to bed. Jack knew that smile. It was a smile that meant absolutely nothing positive.

They'd gotten him to eat at least. Bits of Jucan bread from the ship's kitchen, one of the only pieces of food on the ship that wasn't rotted and mouldy. Both Brax and Jack willingly gave up their share so the Doctor could eat all he could.

It was mid-afternoon when the ship suddenly started bleeping an alert. Brax left to the bridge, and reappeared two minutes later with a grim look on his face.

"We have to stop," he announced.

Jack looked up, wide-eyed. "What?"

"We need to refuel."

"But we can't."

"We won't make it to the Proclamation without any power," Brax pointed out.

Jack looked at the Doctor sat at the table, slumped over. "How are we gonna do that?"

"There's a space-dock just a few miles ahead. We'll have to stop there."

"The Proclamation'll be right behind us," Jack insisted.

"They'll be a way behind, this is a fast ship," Brax said. "I think an hour's stop will be fine, if we just keep our heads down and get out on time."

Jack nodded, and glanced at the airlock where the Master still was. "What are we gonna do about him?"

"He can come with me," Brax said, his eyes narrowing for a moment before widening again, bright and positive. "You two head out and take a little bit of shore leave. It'll be good for you, Thete."

The Doctor just nodded, still slumped on the table with his eyes closed.

Braxiatel noted this. "I'll see if I can stock up on some medical and food supplies too," he muttered quietly.

Jack nodded.

* * *

They docked with no problems, and picked up the Master on the way out who was looking very pale and for once had absolutely nothing to say. Nobody offered him a helping hand; just Brax grabbing his arm and dragging him along like a fed-up parent with a disobedient child until they reached the main docking bay.

"We'll meet back here in an hour," Braxiatel said to Jack and the Doctor. "Any sign of trouble and we all get straight back on the ship, is that clear?"

"Yessir," the Doctor muttered, sitting on the floor with his eyes half-closed.

Braxiatel looked at him again, and then at Jack. "Jack, get him something with chocolate. It's medicinal for Gallifreyans."

"All right," Jack said, slinging the Doctor's arm over his shoulder and coaxing him to stand up. As soon as the Doctor was upright all of the blood immediately drained from his face and he nearly fainted, but managed to stay conscious after a few wonky moments.

"We'll see you in an hour," Jack said to Brax after he'd managed to straighten the Doctor out.

Braxiatel nodded, and disappeared into the service station with a reluctant Master in tow. Jack turned left into the busy terminal lounge, full to the brim with busy commuters, traders and postmasters alike. He moved forward to an available chair in the corner, easing the Doctor down into it gently where he nearly completely slumped but again managed to control himself.

"Stay here," Jack ordered.

"How am I going anywhere?" the Doctor asked seriously, folding his arms and dropping his head down onto them.

"Good point," Jack conceded, pulling a face. "Back in a minute."

He went to the bar and waited his turn, which only took about thirty seconds. When he got to the front he was greeted by a young, good-looking Vinvocci bartender.

Jack was so tired the thought of flirting barely occurred to him. "I'll have a half of hypervodka and a chocolate Keggleshake, thanks."

The Vinvocci bartender nodded and disappeared to fill his request, and it was about that point Jack realised he didn't have any money. He checked his pockets, but there was nothing but his phone and a packet of chewing gum.

Oh well.

Within seconds the bartender returned, and Jack immediately put on his most dazzling smile.

"Cap'n Jack Harkness, by the way," he said, extending a hand. "And _who_ are you?"

* * *

The Doctor was looking around the lounge at the milling crowds, his head still on his arms. Everything was strangely blurry, and his insides felt like they were cooking inside him. He wanted to throw up as he felt like he'd feel better if he did, but every time he'd tried he'd just ended up dry retching. He felt about fifteen stone, a lot to do with the dead weight his muscles now were; not to mention the way his head was banging like a bass drum in a Metallica concert.

He wanted to go home more than anything. He wanted to get back to his TARDIS, his family, curl up next to his wife with his children in his arms and sleep for a lifetime. He was slightly amused at that thought. Ten years ago those kind of thoughts would be the last thing to cross his mind, but here he was sat in the terminal lounge of a space-dock 5 million lights-years from Earth, dying to be back at home.

He wondered how Rose was. She had a 4-year-old, a toddler and a baby to look after on her own. Difficult by anyone's standards, but no doubt she was fine. He loved her for that. She could cope with anything.

Did she miss him too?

He was torn out of his thoughts when Jack returned with drinks in hand, setting them down on the table and taking the seat opposite.

"Got you a Keggleshake and straw," Jack said, pushing it to him.

"Thanks," the Doctor mumbled, aiming his mouth in the direction of the straw. He managed to get it, and realised Jack was staring at him.

"What?" he asked, sucking on the straw.

"Just realising how crazy the last week has been," Jack replied. "You have a brother."

"Yeah."

"A brother whose actually pretty nice."

"Yeah." The Doctor looked at his face again. "You're surprised?"

"I always imagined your brother would be... You know."

"No?" the Doctor prompted.

"Some sort of dark secret."

"Like yours, you mean?"

Jack pulled a face. "Let's not go there."

The Doctor gave a ghost of a smile before shrugging, nonchalant. "He's just Brax."

"D'you think he's real?"

"I don't know," the Doctor confessed, glancing around the room as if Brax was waiting in the shadows somewhere. "I can't trust him. But I don't really have a choice."

"Why not?"

The Doctor gestured down at his nearly dead body, currently twitching slightly as his muscles occasionally spasmed. "Can't get away with this."

"You've got me," Jack insisted. "I'll look after you."

"I'm reassured," the Doctor replied, blasé.

Jack laughed at his tone and expression. "A blood-wash would fix you, wouldn't it?"

"Mostly," the Doctor replied, drinking some more Keggleshake.

"Mostly?"

"The damage it's done to my organs already is permanent until regeneration."

"How bad is the damage?" Jack wondered.

The Doctor shrugged slightly. "Painkillers every day, can't run a marathon, can't eat certain things – I won't know until I get a proper scan."

"You need to regenerate," Jack realised.

"Yes, but I can't," the Doctor muttered. "This is Rose's body."

"You're scared she won't love you in a new body?"

"No, I just... Don't want to have to put her through that again, Jack. I really hurt her last time."

"She knows more now. She'll understand."

The Doctor sighed. "It's more than that. When I regenerate, this me is gone. My thoughts and feelings change, my personality changes. It's so unpredictable. This me dies, and he's gone. If I regenerate I'll still love her, but I might not... Y'know. I just might not do the things I do now."

Jack nodded, and swiftly changed the subject. "Brax would come back home with us, right?"

"Of course he would," the Doctor replied, nodding. "He can live with us if he wants."

"I think him and Rose would get on," Jack mused.

"Maybe too well," the Doctor agreed, wincing slightly.

Jack grinned at that, before his face fell and his eyes disconnected. "... It's really good to see you, y'know. When your clone turned up not even remembering who Rose was I just... It was difficult."

"I'm sorry," the Doctor said sincerely. "If there was any other way..."

"I know," Jack assured him. "God, Doc, I started treating him so badly and he jumped off a building. I was there, I couldn't stop him. If he'd died I just... I'm not sure what I would've done."

"You were there when he needed you," the Doctor countered.

"Too little too late," Jack gruffed. "And now he's trying to kill me."

"I watched you, Jack. I'm proud of you and everyone there. It was a terrible situation to put you all into but you dealt with it well. There's no way I could've asked for perfection."

Jack frowned. "You watched?"

"Before I went to Volag-noc, I watched you to make sure you were okay. I didn't just abandon you, you know. You were fine. I didn't need to intervene until Haxun."

Jack's frowned deepened. "You were on Haxun?"

"When you were attacked by the gang," the Doctor explained. "I had to stop Echo from killing any of them. I stopped his processes, got rid of the gang and then travelled back to tell Meera to pick you up. Then I went to Volag-noc. I knew you'd be okay after that."

"Please save me," Jack realised.

The Doctor nodded.

"How did you stop him?" Jack wondered. "Can we use it now?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Shortly after he was born he was conditioned to react to certain codewords – he's basically a copy of me with limited autonomy, a robot Gallifreyan for the Proclamation to use. Telling him to stand down is one of those codewords. His brain still wasn't fully healed on Haxun and he was susceptible to his verbal command. He's not any more, not for us. Only the Proclamation can stop him now."

"What did they do to him when I left him?" Jack suddenly asked quietly.

"Healed him," the Doctor responded. "His brain started collapsing when I used the codeword. Basically I got rid of all the glue and Sellotape holding his head together after what the Master did to him, and they melded it back together with molten metal. They would have reconditioned him with his codewords again to make sure they were fully embedded."

"Does that involve...?"

The Doctor anticipated the question. "Yes."

"They hurt him..." Jack realised, his heart sinking.

"It's pain conditioning," the Doctor told him. "Literally cut in so deeply it becomes a reflex. But the Proclamation are the only ones who can use the codewords now."

"This is my fault. I can't stop him," Jack realised.

"Yes, you can."

Jack looked at him. "How?"

"Emotion."

"What?"

"Why is my clone daughter killing the Proclamation?"

"I don't know."

"She was physically three-years-old at the cloning stage. She's 15 now. You've seen Echo fight. He's been embedded with all fighting forms, as has she. She's a weapon, and angry that her parents were taken from her. The Proclamation didn't anticipate emotion and just how powerful emotions can be. If you can reach him emotionally, he might be able to overcome his Proclamation state of mind."

"How do I do that?"

"That's up to you."

Jack sighed. "You're so annoyingly cryptic at times."

The Doctor shrugged. "You've been looking after him for months. You're the only one who knows him well enough. When has he cried, when has he been angry and for what reasons? Can you get him to react emotionally? It has to be a strong emotion."

Jack pondered that for a while. "Maybe," he finally answered, and after a moment gritted his teeth. "We _have_ to take down the Proclamation and stop them."

The Doctor nodded in agreement.

"I'd better take you back to the ship," Jack muttered, glancing at the Vinvocci behind the bar. "I've gotta fill a tab."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, already knowing what that meant. "I'm fine here."

"You sure?"

He nodded. "Go."

"Judging by the look of him it shouldn't take more than four minutes," Jack mused, take the last swig of his hypervodka and getting up. "Back in a bit."

The Doctor watched him disappear through the crowd, into the bar and through the back. The Vinvocci quickly followed, throwing his jacket aside on the way. Not even the potential collapse of the Universe could stop that piston of a man.

The Doctor's eyes drifted across the lounge at the milling crowds. All these life-forms, these living people laughing, crying, hugging, kissing. He felt so incredibly alone.

He had to distract himself by looking at the holovision on the wall, the news currently on, He watched it blankly for a while until he refocused. His eyes were too blurry to make out the words scrolling by, but something had caught his eye...

"_The final surviving Architect has refused to comment, and as the eyes of Universe turn to the Shadow Proclamation HQ, the future of life is thrown into uncertainty."_

Another Architect had been murdered. That meant there was only one remaining...

"_The Proclamation have released a statement, confirming that the Architects have been mass-murdered by a being named as Echo Three. Echo Three is described as a humanoid adolescent female of unspecified description, possibly with connections to Sol 3. They are known to be connected to the Doctor, one of the last remaining Time Lords in existence. The Doctor is known to currently be travelling with two Time Lords known as Irving Braxiatel and the Master, and a human known as Jack Harkness. If the Doctor or any of his companions are sighted, they are to be apprehended and restrained until the authorities arrive. They are considered extremely dangerous."_

As the pictures of him, Jack, Brax and the Master all flashed up in succession, the Doctor felt extremely sick. He looked around the bar as his own picture came up – but no one seemed to be looking at him or the news. Still, he had to get out of here, as quietly and as quickly as he could.

He pushed himself to his feet, using the table as support. He dared to take a few steps, feeling slightly confident, until on the forth step his legs seemed to collapsed from beneath him and he hit the floor in a crumpled heap.

Several people around him gasped and jumped back in alarm.

"Are you all right?" a female Jex asked quickly, kneeling down next to him but his head was spinning so much he couldn't keep his eyes open.

"I'm fine," he tried to say, but it came out in a messy tangle of syllables.

"Wait a minute... He's the Doctor!" somebody yelled, and the entire crowd gasped again.

The entire lounge was looking at him now as several heroes launched forward to hold him in place – not that they needed to.

"Someone call the Proclamation!" a voice yelled as the Doctor suddenly found his head right in the carpet, a knee in his neck. The adrenaline was making his blood rush faster and he tried desperately to suppress it, as the faster it went the more his insides _screamed _with pain...

"You don't understand..." the Doctor moaned out.

His head was shoved further into the carpet, and it quickly became impossible to talk. He tried to get up, but his limbs barely react, just spasming some more.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly yelled – Jack. He was right. That _had _been quick. "What're you doing!?"

"He was on the news too!" somebody yelled. The Doctor winced, only able to hear scuffling and shoving, before people let go of him and eventually a familiar hand rested on his head.

"Leave him alone!" Jack cried, turning the Doctor over. The Time Lord opened his eyes slightly, and groaned quietly as he realised Jack was holding a gun. But the slightly peculiar thing was that Jack was holding it to his _own _head. "Stay back, or my beautiful brain hits you guys on the left!"

The entire lounge was staring at them now.

"Jack," the Doctor moaned.

"No, Doctor, don't move," Jack said seriously to him. "I'm gonna tell these people what needs to be heard."

"Don't," the Doctor begged. "You'll make it worse."

Jack ignored him. "You wanna know what's wrong with him?" He pointed to the Doctor lying moaning, spasming, pale and weak on the floor. "He's been gassed with alere flamman, _by the Proclamation."_

There were several gasps, and a stunned silence descended over the lounge. Everybody knew what that was.

"They tried to kill him, but he's fighting to survive because he wants to go home to his family, who he hasn't seen, because the Proclamation put him in solitary confinement in the level seven wing of Volag-Noc for _twelve years_ under a fictional charge."

Several people muttered between themselves.

"There was a massacre at the Shadow Proclamation twelve years ago, where a generation of clones the Proclamation had grown from their prisoners' DNA, called the Echo generation, escaped. They were brutally exterminated except for Echo Three, who is _his _clone daughter." He pointed at the Doctor. "She is killing the Proclamation Architects one by one for killing her parents. And the Proclamation are terrified. They didn't evacuate Haxun One, they _massacred _Haxun One. Go there if you don't believe me. Every resident of Haxun One is dead, the streets are caked with bodies, apart from a teenage boy called Tchan who escaped, and was consequently locked up in Volag-Noc for apparent terrorism – because he _saw _what happened."

There were more gasps and mutters.

"There are loads of people just like Tchan," Jack continued. "The Haxun planets aren't under curfew, they're under oppression. There is no way to get food or water, as soon as they step outside the door they're going to be killed, because there are _no police left._ The Judoon have all been sent chasing after Echo Three, the entire Proclamation ripping themselves apart in corruption and greed, and are now trying to kill the Time Lords for good. They're man-hunting us across space to kill the last of the Time Lords, because they're the last ones who have enough power to stand up and fight back. That is what the Proclamation are doing. If you still think we're dangerous, then let them take us and kill us as soon as we're out of your sight and you can carry on living in ignorance."

There was only a stunned silence. He lowered his gun from his head and put it back in his holster. Nobody moved.

"Spread the word, but keep yourself protected," Jack urged. "The Proclamation _will _come and arrest you, and maybe even kill you for saying this. But the Universe needs to know. We're gonna fight back and sort out the Proclamation, but we can't fight you guys too..."

There came the sound of marching footsteps in sync coming towards the lounge. Immediately everyone froze. They knew that sound as the footsteps reached the doorway...

"Charge, terrorism..."

"_Run _for your _lives!"_ Jack yelled, and immediately the crowd scattered and the Judoon gunfire began. Jack scooped up the Doctor and threw him over his shoulder, pushing through the crowd to get to the dock where they'd parked. People were flying around in front of him from the sheer blasts of the Judoon fire, bodies smashing into the ground, torn apart. Blood in all colours of the spectrum was making a Jackson Pollock on the walls as Jack ran desperately to the doorway, squeezing through with several other terrified life-forms, all of them screaming their lungs out in fear and pain...

He reached the docking bay, where he found Brax and Master stumbling to a halt from the other direction.

"What on _Tiberus _did you do!?" Brax yelped to Jack.

"No time, let's get out!" Jack gasped, and carried on to the ship. They all tumbled through the airlock and into the ship, Brax sealing up the door before diving for the Doctor.

"Thete?" he urged, shaking his almost completely limp body.

"Brax," the Doctor moaned. "Stop sh-shaking me..."

"Sorry," Brax said quickly, and headed straight to the bridge... But stopped dead in his tracks.

"Finally!" a voice called, stepping through from the bridge.

"Echo," Jack breathed.

Echo drew out his gun and moved forward. There was nowhere to run.

"You shouldn't have saved me, Jack!" Echo yelped, his deep brown eyes coloured red fixed on them as he walked forward, pushing them back to the airlock door. "You should've left me on the street, _plastered_ to the _ground."_

"No," Jack said quickly. "Never. I'm sorry, Doctor. I am, really I am," he insisted honestly. "I am so, so sorry."

Echo growled a deep, primal growl in his throat, spittle on his lip. "I'm going to kill you now, Jack, then I'll kill you, Master, and then I'm gonna kill you, Doctor, and your brother, and then everything will _stop hurting."_

"What the hell have they done to you?" Jack whined, looking straight into Echo's eyes.

"They've told me what I'm meant for!" Echo screamed back.

"What are you meant for?" the Doctor asked apprehensively.

"I was made to rule the universe!" He suddenly reached inside his pocket and pulled out a phial of blood.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked, wide-eyed.

"You're the Doctor, you're clever, you tell me!" Echo enthused, a sick smile on his face.

"No, please... No, Echo," the Doctor begged, suddenly looking very pale.

"Is that his blood?" Jack asked in horror.

"My blood, his blood, same thing!" Echo yelled and threw it on the floor where the phial smashed into a million pieces and Echo's blood slowly spread out towards the Doctor and Brax's feet. Echo didn't seem to care about that, and reached for another gun on his holster. "Here's something I made earlier!"

He pulled out a chamberless sleek silver gun, a small red phial attached where the chamber should have been. Everyone in the room knew what it was immediately.

"That's illegal!" the Doctor gasped, leaning heavily on Brax.

"No, don't, please, don't do this to him," Brax begged, holding onto his brother with both arms.

"Don't worry, you won't miss out, it'll hurt you too, Braxiatel!" Echo enthused, and with no hesitation pulled the trigger.

There was no gunshot or laser fire of any kind – just a faint clunk and a hiss. But it was enough. Immediately the Doctor screamed; a grating, raw screaming tearing from his throat like shards of glass hitting Jack full in the face. Even Braxiatel was shaking badly, trying to keep a hold on his brother but the both of them, united by common blood, were hit by the force of the blood gun. The Doctor constricted and twisted as he continued to scream, only stopping after ten seconds when he fell forward and hit the floor, straight into the puddle of Echo's blood, motionless. Braxiatel, only hit half-force by the power of the gun, was on his knees still conscious, but Echo kept the trigger held and pointed straight at him.

Jack could do nothing but watch as Braxiatel fought so hard to overcome the power of the blood-gun, but after another twenty seconds he hit the floor too, right next to his brother. Jack breathed out a cuss of horror, staring at the two Time Lords taken out in less than thirty seconds. He looked back at Echo, who dropped the blood gun and refocused on the Master and Jack.

"... What have you done?" Jack croaked.

"What have I done?" Echo repeated, slowly stepping forward. "I just wanted you to see your high and mighty Doctor _scream_."

"Why!?" Jack begged to know. "Why would you do that!?"

"I _hate _you, Jack!" Echo was beginning to shake. "I want you to _suffer _before I kill you!"

"Why!?" Jack repeated.

"I thought I was your _friend!"_

"I am," Jack insisted. "I still am, even now, I'm your friend."

Echo was shaking so badly now that if he wanted to shoot them from this range he'd probably miss. His eyes were scanning over Jack; darting back and forth rapidly.

"You... You... You _left me with them," _Echo stammered out, obviously fighting something they couldn't see. "You let them_ hurt me."_

"I didn't want to," Jack said quickly. "Believe me. I hate that they hurt you."

"Was it cos of _him!?" _Echo gasped out, his eyes watering now as he continued to shake. "I know, cos he's more _important!"_

Jack faltered, swallowing hard. "Shoot me, go on. Just shoot me," he said seriously, holding his arms out in invitation. "You've got every right. I've messed up so many times. I've let you down again and again, but you have to know... We had a really good time while it lasted. If we all survive this, we'll go back home."

"Home?" Echo croaked.

"Earth, Torchwood."

"... Your home."

"Yours too," Jack insisted. "You might be a clone but we wouldn't abandon you – the Doctor wouldn't abandon you. We'd look after you. Sort out your head."

"... Get fish and chips?" Echo whispered.

"Yeah, that, all that," Jack replied honestly. "We'll get fish and chips, watch University Challenge, all that stuff."

"All of us?"

"Yep, one big family. Together. It's always been like that, and that'd be extended to you."

Echo choked a sob. "... I don't want to kill you, Jack. I don't... want to kill anyone. Not a living thing."

"Then don't," Jack said softly. "Come with us, please."

"No," Echo burst out, getting two hands on the gun to steady it. "You'll leave me again!"

"Never again, I _swear,"_ Jack almost whispered. "Give me the gun and we can go home."

Echo just stared at him, still shaking. Jack stretched forward a little more, a foot shifting slightly...

_BANG._

Jack hit the floor, immediately dead from the shot straight through his neck, a fountain of red exploding as the bullet ripped out practically everything in its path. Instantaneously Echo _screamed, _jumping back and dropping the gun in absolute horror. He began to hyperventilate and cry at the same time, his eyes fixed to Jack's bloody, mangled, and _very_ dead body.

Then there was just silence.

The Master stared at Echo for a moment, then at Jack. Then he moved forward to Echo, and placed his hands gently on his temples.

"Stand down, Echo, it's over," he muttered, activating the Pons in Echo's head. Echo sagged immediately, dropping to the floor in a deep sleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Must be time for another review reply. Bring it ooon! :D


	31. Echo, Chill Out

Chapter 31 – Echo, Chill Out

The Master didn't make a big deal of it. He programmed the ship to carry on to the Proclamation and shielded them so they couldn't be detected. He then dragged the Doctor and Echo to bed and gave the Doctor some medications to help his now completely twisted blood. He then went back to the room with Jack and Brax still unconscious on the floor, sat there in a chair with his arms folded, and waited.

It wasn't long until Brax woke up, groaning and lifting his head. "Thete?" he grunted out, before he caught sight of the Master sitting there and his eyes narrowed. "Where is he!?" he spat with contempt, struggling upright.

"In bed," the Master responded simply. "I've administered him some anticoagulants and high-strength painkillers. He'll be a bit dopey for a while. No change there, then. Echo doesn't need anything by the way, I think he's been mostly defused but I tied him up anyway just in case. Our favourite immortal isn't quite up yet."

He gestured to Jack's dead body, currently in the process of healing itself.

Brax looked at Jack, and then back at the Master with his eyebrows lowered, confused. "Why would you do that?"

"This is called mercy," the Master said, leaning forward with his eyes narrowed as he spat out his next two words... "Remember it."

Brax didn't reply to that, just left out the door at a run to go to his brother. The Master smiled slightly to himself, and went back to the bridge to leave Jack to revive.

* * *

Echo woke up, his head pounding as he realised he was tied up, his hands behind his back and his legs bound from the knee down. For a moment he wondered what had happened before the images all suddenly came rushing back of Jack in a fountain of blood.

"Jack," he gasped, realising what he'd done. "I'm sorry..."

"What for?" Jack's voice asked.

Echo's eyes snapped open and his head turned to find Jack sitting there next to him, grinning.

Echo gaped in shock. "You're... You're alive!"

"Yeah," Jack replied, smiling.

"But... But I killed you. I shot you, Jack!"

Jack smiled. "Don't you remember? Concrete!" he insisted in jest, knocking on his head.

Echo just stared at him, his eyes wide. "... That's not concrete," he croaked seriously.

Jack sighed, conceding. "You're right. I'm immortal."

"... What?"

"I can't die. Accident a few years ago with the Tardis. Every time I die now I... wake up."

Echo stared at him some more, right in the middle of his neck. There was nothing to indicate he'd ever been shot.

"Why did you try to talk me out of it if you knew you'd be fine?" Echo asked quietly.

"I wasn't doing it for me," Jack told him.

"For me?" Echo croaked.

"I knew you didn't want to kill anyone."

"But I did," Echo whispered.

"Nope, I'm still alive. Doesn't count. You get off on a technicality."

Echo suddenly laughed, the laugh bursting out through teary eyes. Jack took this as a cue, leaning forward to hug him.

"I'm really s-sorry," Echo whispered in his arms.

"It's okay," Jack assured him.

"I hit you. I beat you up... I really wanted to hurt you, Jack. Because you left me there."

Jack pulled back from the hug, grinning. "Yep, you kicked my ass. Though at that point I think I probably deserved it. And it's okay, you were out of your head. The Proclamation had you programmed. But you're free, now, and I gotta say, it's really nice not having you running around trying to kill me. Unless you still want to kill me of course, which you could do, but at least it's your choice now."

"I don't want to hurt you," Echo said instantly.

"Fine by me," Jack replied, still grinning. "Frankly if I was in your position I'd want to punch my lights out for what I did."

Echo shook his head.

"What did they do to you?" Jack asked suddenly, his face sincere.

Echo looked at the floor. "I can't remember some bits," he admitted. "There were... white lights. Lots of white lights. I thought you were coming back, so I fought them for so long. But they had a metal stick wired up to a malfunctioning mainframe..."

"Illegal," Jack breathed, his head in his hands.

"Whenever I tried to fight..."

"They electrocuted you," Jack completed in a whisper.

Echo nodded.

"Did they hit you too? And cut you?"

Echo nodded again.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure," Jack muttered, and leant forward to peel back Echo's shirt from his torso. Echo winced as he did so, his skin littered with cuts, electrical burns and bruises that Jack had treated earlier. They were all over his back, arms and legs too.

"I'm gonna kill 'em," Jack grated. "For everything they've done to you and the Doctor."

He carefully pulled his shirt back down again, checking Echo was comfortable.

"... Are the Doctor and his brother okay?" Echo asked suddenly.

Jack pulled a face. "Brax is okay. The Doctor's taken a downhill."

Echo swallowed. "Can I help?"

"Not sure, you'll have to ask Brax. I think you need to apologise to him first, though. Where the hell did you get a blood gun, anyway?"

"The Architect gave it to me; showed me how to use it. They had a big room full of weapons."

Jack sighed through gritted teeth. "They are taking the absolute piss. I've gotta talk to Brax."

Echo nodded. "Can I come?" he asked.

"I can't untie you," Jack admitted, looking sheepish. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you could still be an instrument for the Proclamation."

"I know," Echo said, nodding. "It's okay."

"I'll carry you."

He slipped his arms under Echo and lifted him up, carrying him into the next sleeping quarters where the Doctor was lying with Braxiatel at his side.

"Brax, guess where Echo got the blood gun," Jack began.

"Where," Brax muttered dully, staring at the Doctor, who was utterly motionless.

"The Proclamation Architect gave it to him and showed him how to use it. I'm guessing they've got a massive bank of completely illegal weapons primed and ready to go," he answered, setting Echo down on a chair.

Brax sighed, his head in his hands. "We can't do this."

"Yes, we can," Jack said firmly.

"No, we can't," Brax repeated, frustrated. "He's not waking up, Jack."

Echo stared at the Doctor looking very nearly dead, sweat coating his face and chest. "... Can I do anything?" he asked nervously.

Brax's head snapped to him. "Get out," he spat.

Echo flinched, but Jack quickly held out an arm. "The Proclamation can't use him anymore. I broke his conditioning. Can he help?"

"He can help by leaving Thete _alone," _Brax grated.

"Brax, calm down," Jack urged. "He's help. Can you use him to help the Doctor?"

Brax sighed, dejected. "No. Thank you, but no. There's nothing you can do, Echo."

Echo's eyes dropped to the floor, clearly ashamed. Jack rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Okay," Jack said, looking at Brax. "Take five minutes."

"No," Brax responded immediately.

"Brax," Jack repeated lowly. "Have a break. We all need to eat something."

"I'll sit with him," Echo said suddenly, manoeuvring off of the chair and methodically dragging himself along the floor to sit by the bed. "I need to say sorry."

Brax sighed, looking back at Thete before conceding and stepping out of the door. Jack followed, leaving Echo alone with the Doctor.

Echo just stared at the Doctor's face. There wasn't a flicker of life in it. So he leant forward, pressing his head against the Doctor's fingers like the Master had done to him so many times, and closed his eyes.

"Get better," he muttered under his breath, trying to think the words to somehow communicate with him. "Get better. Please. I'm sorry. Get better."

The Doctor didn't even twitch.

"I know," Echo said quickly, suddenly pulling back and rolling around a little bit to get a diary out of his pocket that he'd kept with him. He methodically eased it out and rolled back over to sit up, before moving it in front of him with his bound feet. He then used his toes to flick to the page he was on before, and held it in place with his foot.

"May the first, 2010, Leah 1 year, 7 months old," he began out loud. "Dear diary. Jack had the idea that we should all take a trip out to some planet for the day, so we went to Chubia Major. But there were these things called jibbles on the planet, and when Leah was holding one it bit her and she didn't tell us. We only found out when we got back to the TARDIS and she collapsed in the console room. She's got the jibble virus, and now the TARDIS is in quarantine and we all have to stay here in case it gets taken to Earth. The Doctor put her in quarantine too, and now I have to disinfect and wear a mask and gloves and everything if I wanna see her, even though it's through glass. The Doctor says he doesn't know how the jibble virus affects humans and it could be really bad. Rose."

He turned to the next entry, the day after.

"May the second. Dear diary. Martha and Ianto have the jibble virus, and they both went into quarantine with Leah. The Doctor's the only one that can go into quarantine, and last night Leah cried so much he's started sleeping with her because she gets so scared. I hope I don't get the jibble virus, it looks so bad. Rose."

He turned again to the next page.

"May the third. Dear diary. Sarah, Mickey and Gwen have it now. Just me and Jack left. The Doctor's told us to stay away and keep ourselves sterile. I haven't seen him or Leah since ten this morning. I think she's getting better, though. Rose."

"May the fourth. Dear diary, Jack has the jibble virus, now. That's weird – I thought immortals couldn't get ill? Just me left. No sign of any of them coming out, yet. I haven't seen them for so long, but the Doctor set up comms so I can talk to Leah. Rose."

He turned to the next day, but there was no entry. The day after only had a short paragraph, a little messy.

"May the sixth. I've got it. I collapsed, the Doctor says he got worried when I didn't answer the comm and he came out and found me passed out by our bed."

The pages were empty for five consecutive days.

"May the twelfth. Dear diary. Feeling better! Everyone's cleared of the jibble virus, at least, everyone but the Doctor. He's been running around after all of us all week looking after us without sleeping to eating or anything, the TARDIS is a mess. He finally collapsed this morning – he was in Leah's bedroom cleaning up and must've just passed out on the spot because Leah started screaming for help and Jack says he found him on the floor, shaking. He didn't bother telling us that he could get it too! Martha says he's probably had it for days. He's now tucked up in bed with a fluffy hot water bottle, fast asleep next to me. Everyone's started tidying up the place for him and we're all looking after him. I think he's stopped trying to get up now and is just letting us deal with this. I did have to yell at him first, and he did his cute pouty face and big Puss In Boots eyes trying to get off. They don't work on me any more. Rose."

Echo stopped, and slowly looked up from the diary to see the Doctor just lying there.

"What have I done?" he croaked. His shoulders shook, his eyes watered, and he firmly hunched over as he began to cry.

* * *

"His blood is just twisted beyond belief," Brax was saying, angrily opening some packets of food and emptying them carelessly into trays. "You know what that blood gun did?" He didn't gave Jack a chance to reply, slamming a packet of something down onto the worktop. "Clotted his blood _inside _him. When that trigger got pulled that thing clotted his entire blood stream, like ice, and he had a hearts attack. That was the last thing he needed! His blood cells are already carrying the alere flamman!"

He grabbed the top of the packet in both hands and pulled it open roughly. The entire contents of the packets sprayed everywhere with the force. Brax didn't seem to notice.

"I am _not _letting him die," he continued. "I _cannot _let him die. We _have_ to go to safety. We've _got _to get him to a hospital," He stopped, staring at the packets of food he'd torn open and the resultant food all over the table and the floor. "Why on _Titan _am I standing here opening packets of _biscuits!?"_

"Braxiatel," Jack said firmly, trying desperately to clean up his mess. "The Doctor's right. We need to resolve this mess the Proclamation's created. They're killing entire planets. This is murder on a massive scale. We can't let this go on."

"You don't even _care, _do you!?"

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Of _course _I care, but this is his choice."

"He has _no idea _what he's even talking about, and you don't care about him!"

Jack was immediately furious at his harsh words. "Who do you think kept him alive when he couldn't even feed himself after the Valiant!? Who do you think kept his family running when he was abducted and nearly had his arm severed off so bad he couldn't recognise Rose through blood loss for days!? Who do you think looked after him and his family after they were taken by the Proclamation and he was tortured for two months!? When the zinox made his father leave him in a burning building and he went into a coma for a week _who _do you think looked after him, Rose and the kids!?"

Braxiatel faltered, staring at Jack with wide eyes.

"Of _course_ I care about him," Jack continued through gritted teeth, trying desperately to calm himself down. "When he decides to go and do something that's probably gonna kill him then guess what, I just have to go along with it, because he does _everything _he can to save the universe and who the hell am I to stand in front of him and ask him not to because he might get hurt!? If he ever died for good I'd never forgive myself for letting him go and do it, but I can't exactly stop him, which is why I am _always _here to look after him, and I will carry on doing that for as long as he lives. I love your brother, believe me. I hate it when he does this. But I just have to watch – I watch him go through all of this crap, and all I can hope is that there are enough pieces of him for me to pick up at the end."

Brax just stood there, stunned. "... I did not know," he said.

"There are a _lot_ of things you don't know about your brother," Jack responded haughtily. "He knows _exactly _what he's talking about and he's going to save everyone; I don't doubt it. I trust him with my life, and I trust him with his own life too. Why can't_ you?"_

There was a long painful silence as Brax's eyes disconnected from Jack's to meet the floor. Suddenly Jack's anger dulled, and he only felt sympathy.

"Look, I know he's your little brother, but he can look after himself," Jack said gently. "I had a little brother too. I know the feeling."

Brax didn't say anything.

"Just relax," Jack said seriously. "He'll be fine. He always is. He's the Doctor."

"He's Thete too," Brax muttered. "He's my little half-human brother... He has never had it easy, Jack. The Cousins treated him badly because he was so different. He was very lonely, I think. When he was a tot, he used to disappear for days on end and come back covered in mud with his clothes ripped. His mother used to worry about him a lot. He's always been particularly independent. We were never on bad terms, odd fights now and then, but I've always just let him get on with it and concerned myself with my own life. Though since the war and Volag-Noc..."

Jack nodded. "Thinking time," he summarised.

Brax nodded. "He's all I've got left."

"You've got him and his family, and all of us," Jack insisted. "You'll love his family."

Brax smiled slightly. "I still can't believe he's a father."

"Don't think he can either," Jack replied, and spread a grin. Brax's smile widened. "But you have to learn to trust him."

Brax sighed, his smile dropping as he rolled back his shoulders. "All right," he said. "I'll try. And maybe Echo _can _help."

* * *

"Echo."

Echo looked up at Jack and Brax as they entered the room with food and drink. His face was streamed with tears, and one of Rose's diaries was open on the floor in front of him.

Jack moved forward immediately, dropping down to his knees to hug him. "What's up?"

"I did this to him," Echo choked, staring at the Doctor. "This is my fault..."

"This is the Proclamation's fault," Jack insisted quickly, holding Echo's face in his hands. "This is all their doing, not yours. You couldn't help it."

"But I used the blood gun on him," Echo sobbed. "Not them. I've really hurt him, Jack. What would I tell all of these people?" He gestured down at the diary with his head. Jack saw the word 'jibble', and guessed the rest. "How would I tell Leah, Alex and Kiana that their daddy is dead because of me?"

"It's _not_ your fault and he's _not _gonna die," Jack insisted. "Brax thinks he can do something." He looked up at the Time Lord standing above him. "Brax?" he prompted.

Brax nodded and stepped forward. "How do you feel about being a donor?" he asked Echo.

"Anything," Echo said immediately. "I'll give him anything."

"If we can drain some of his infected blood and put some of your healthy blood in it might balance him out for a little while," Brax said.

"Okay," Echo replied eagerly, struggling to get up.

"Not so fast, kamikaze," Jack said quickly, resting a hand on his chest. "He needs draining a bit first."

"Oh, okay," Echo said. Jack helped him up into the chair, scooping up the diary and giving it back to him.

"I can't believe you hung onto this," Jack admitted as Brax set to work on his brother.

"I didn't want to throw it away," Echo admitted. "There was too much life in there."

Jack just smiled at that as they both looked at the Doctor, lying there with his blood draining into a bucket by Brax's feet.

* * *

The Doctor woke up, and felt slightly better than usual.

For a moment he wondered how that was even possible, but swiftly decided not to think about that too hard and opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed, a blood transfusion line attached to his arm. He followed it up to see Echo sitting there tied up in a chair, staring at the ceiling.

"Echo," he murmured.

Echo's head snapped to him. "You're alive!" he gasped. "Jack!" he called out the door.

"Did I die?" the Doctor asked seriously, moaning and pressing a hand to his chest.

"Well, no, but... I'm sorry," Echo said quickly. "I didn't... It was..."

"It's okay," the Doctor breathed. "Just gave my system a shock. Forgiven." He looked at Echo, sat there bound. "Why are you tied up?"

"Braxiatel and Jack say I might still be dangerous," Echo replied as Brax and Jack tumbled in through the door.

"Doctor!" Jack said as Brax went straight to his brother, checking over every inch of him.

"He's not dangerous," the Doctor told them seriously. "Untie him."

Echo frowned. "Are you sure? I don't want to hurt any of you in case they've still got me."

"They haven't," the Doctor replied simply, as Jack obeyed the Doctor and untied Echo. "You've spent too long with Jack and with humans and emotions for them to charge in and overwrite you completely. It was powerful, but temporary. I don't know what Jack did but it was all you needed to snap out of it. You're not dangerous. At least, not while you're away from them."

Echo nodded quickly, and untied his feet with Jack's help.

"And I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you," the Doctor said seriously.

"It's not your fault," Echo reasoned. "The Proclamation did this to me. They made me. They grew me and programmed me and... they... they hurt me." He shuddered at the thought.

"Thete, stop talking," Brax instructed, easing the transfusion line out of his arm.

"I'm fine," the Doctor insisted, struggling to sit up. "How far away are we from the Proclamation?"

"About twenty hours," Brax responded, checking the Doctor's pupils.

"Good, should give us just enough time."

Echo's eyes widened. "We're going to the Proclamation?" he repeated, shocked. "No, no, please don't hand me over, please don't..."

Jack laughed at his expression, and smiled reassuringly. "Of course we're not. The Proclamation have gone far enough. We're taking 'em down, and then we're going home. All of us, together."

"Really?"

"Really. You aren't being left anywhere."

Echo breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing again.

"We do need to do something with you, though," the Doctor said to Echo once he'd managed to sit vaguely upright.

"What?" Jack asked.

"You might've broken his conditioning but the codewords are still active. We can't get rid of them, but we can try and condition you with some counter codewords for our own use."

"Don't hurt him," Jack said immediately.

"It's okay," Echo said to Jack, nodding. "If it stops me hurting you."

"But...!"

"It won't be pain conditioning," the Doctor interrupted quickly before an argument could erupt. "Pleasure conditioning. Not quite as effective as pain conditioning but it should be enough to overcome whatever's leftover from them. Your brain should still be pliable enough."

"Clever," Brax realised.

"What does that mean?" Echo asked.

"No pain involved," the Doctor assured him, using the bed-frame to stand up. He was a lot less wonky on his feet than before. "Blimey, I forgot what healthy blood feels like," he said, stunned.

"You're shaking less," Jack noted.

"Temporary," Brax muttered, keeping a hand near his brother as a precaution.

"Echo, can you sit down a second?" the Doctor asked, and Echo sat down in the chair. "I know there's probably not a lot to choose from, but I want you to think of your happiest memory. Or maybe imagine something happening that would be so happy for you. Got one?"

Echo thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Got one."

"Now close your eyes. I want you to sink into that memory, imagine how you feel. Feel the happiness, the blood rushing through you, the urge to jump up and down, your face aching with a massive smile. Focus on it."

The Doctor rested one hand on Echo's temple. Echo stiffened slightly.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"Sinking him further into his memory," the Doctor muttered, not taking his eyes off of Echo. "Go deeper, Echo. Feel your body changing... Further... Okay," the Doctor's voice dropped to a whisper, put both his hands on Echo's temples, closed his eyes, and suddenly Echo fell limp. "Jack, what's your code word?" the Doctor asked quickly.

"Echo, chill out," Jack replied, smirking slightly.

"Say it again, louder."

"Echo, chill out!"

The Doctor quickly drew his hands away, and Echo snapped awake, looking around in confusion.

"What happened?" he asked, blinking repeatedly.

"We implanted a code word into you," the Doctor replied.

"Is that it?" Echo wondered. "Am I safe, now?"

"No," the Doctor said, stepping back. "We need to do that every hour until we reach the Proclamation. Should be just enough time to get it right inside your head. Oh, and Jack's your activator. Only he can say it."

Echo nodded, getting up again.

"Now, is it just me, or is anyone else _really _hungry?" the Doctor asked seriously, and doddered out of the door.

* * *

**A/N: **Proclamation next chapter NO IDEA what's going to happen.


	32. A Trip to the Incinerator

**A/N:** I now have a proper story cover. Like with a title on it and stuff. I mean, look. Wow. It's so rad. Drawn by the multi-dimensionally talented the-writer1988. Wooo!

This chapter is actually quite dark.

* * *

Chapter 32 – A Trip to the Incinerator

Twenty hours later, and the ship docked at the Proclamation.

Brax came out from the docking bay first, followed by the Doctor, then Jack and Echo together before the Master brought up the rear. It seemed abnormally quiet.

"We should head to the control tower, top floor," the Doctor said.

"Follow me," Brax said, nodding.

He led them down the desolate corridor, their footsteps echoing all the way until they reached the lift at the end of the corridor and piled inside.

Brax hit the button for the top floor, and suddenly the lift gave a massive groan. The lift doors squeaked, which abruptly turned into a tearing sound, and they slammed shut so hard the sides crushed into each other. The lights on top flickered and died, and all five were cast into complete darkness.

"I've gotta bad feeling about this," Jack muttered, reaffirming his grip on Echo's hand, who side-stepped to be a little closer to him.

"Laser screwdriver!" the Doctor said quickly, urgently.

The Master rolled his eyes in the dark, drew it out of his pocket, and held it in the Doctor's direction. Before the Doctor could take it, the lift groaned, strained, and all five were sent hard into the floor as suddenly the lift began to fall. The Master abruptly lost his hold on his laser screwdriver and it flew out of his hand.

"Laser screwdriver!" the Doctor demanded again, the lights now strobing as sparks flew and the lift continued to fall. Brax spotted the screwdriver rolling towards the edge of the lift where the very floor was tearing away from the side. He managed to catch it before it fell over the edge and grabbed his brother by the neck in turn to get his attention, shoving the screwdriver into his hand.

The Doctor buzzed the lift control panel, furiously pressing buttons. As the lift continued to plummet he continued working, but it was apparent he was barely doing anything to change their fate.

"Oh, give it here!" the Master cried, grabbing his screwdriver out of the Doctor's hands and pointing it at the above hatch. It dropped within seconds. The Doctor looked at him, just for half a second, before nodding and giving him a hand up.

"What the hell is he doing!?" Jack yelled, his eyes fixed to the floor numbers as they flashed past within milliseconds; **391, 347, 298, 266...**

"Shush!" the Doctor implored as the Master made it up onto the top of the falling lift. "Not yet!" he called to the Master.

Jack, Brax and Echo simultaneously realised that they no longer had any control over the situation, and could only watch the floors go by as they started down to their most likely inevitable deaths; **139, 102, 84, 42**, **17**...

"NOW!" the Doctor yelled up to the Master, and immediately sparks flew out, raining down through the hatch. The lift slowed in its descent, slower and slower as the metal screech and ripped. The Master dropped back inside and held out his hands to prevent the others from going near the Doctor, who was now just staring at the wall, muttering under his breath.

"Brace yourselves and we'll stay alive!"the Master told them, grabbing the Doctor's shoulder firmly.

"What's he doing!?" Brax yelled.

"Calculating how long until we stop!" the Master shouted back.

"Three, two... BRACE!" the Doctor suddenly yelled. All five braced for impact, and the lift hit the ground within milliseconds.

* * *

The Doctor woke up to the feeling of being dragged by his legs along a cold, hard and quite painful floor. He blinked open blurry eyes and saw he was being dragged by a lone figure, pulling him up a corridor. It was humanoid in shape, but much straighter – a robot, he realised, as his hearing finally registered the clunks and hisses of hydraulic limbs.

It had his legs with metal clamps around each ankle, fixed firmly to the robot itself. It was an automated porter bot, he realised, programmed to take him to... to... well, somewhere he hadn't quite figured out yet. But wherever it was, it wasn't going to be good. He was quite sure of that.

He _had_ to get out of this.

"Brax!" he yelled. "Jack! Echo! Master!"

There was no reply, and the Doctor kept on getting dragged along the corridor, which seemed to be getting increasingly more and more black with soot...

"Anyone!" he yelled, looking around the corridor but there wasn't a single door in sight. It was all just metal walls, looking very fortified... and was it getting hotter? It was _definitely _getting hotter...

"Brax!" he tried again, but it was clear he wasn't around. The Doctor's clothes were becoming more and more black, mixing with his own blood from whatever impact injuries he had from the lift, which he didn't really care to think about. When he looked behind him he could see his body was carving a line of cleanliness through the black on the floor...

He now knew where this porter was taking him, and now he could admit he was panicking slightly. He tried reaching for his feet to try and release them, but they were held firm.

He hated crying for help. He _really _hated it. He had become far too accustomed to being the one that answered the call for help. But here he was heading for the incinerator without any chance of escape, and he _really _didn't want to burn to death.

"Help!" he yelled. "Help me!"

The porter robot entered the incinerator room. The Doctor tried to find something to cling onto and found the door-frame itself, but his wrist surged with pain and his fingers easily slid off with nothing to grip onto.

"Deactivate!" the Doctor yelled at the robot in desperation. "Security protocol ten! 666! Forty-two! One! 100! Command override!"

The robot didn't pay any attention to him, the next thing he knew he was hanging upside-down over the incinerator pit, struggling to find something, _anything _to hold on to. He couldn't.

The smoke from the pit was in his lungs now, making him choke and cough as his eyes watered. This wasn't fair. This _really _wasn't fair. Had he just spent twelve years in Volag-Noc only to be burnt to death in the most anti-climatic death in existence?

His eyes flickered around his surroundings, his brain working overtime to try and find an escape, but he couldn't come up with anything. He quickly decided to yell again, struggling not to choke on the fumes rising from the fire below...

"Security protocol 500! HELP!"

But it was too late. The robot let go of his feet.

He yelped in alarm as he began to fall, but it was quickly followed by another yelp when he suddenly stopped in mid-air, something gripping his ankle. He forced his head to look up and saw the Master crouched on the edge of the platform holding the Doctor's ankle in one hand and a sturdy metal strut with the other.

"Master!" he gasped.

The Master was just staring at him, as if trying to decide what he should do next. Repeated watching of The Lion King made the Doctor half-expect him to lean down and hiss, 'long live the King' and let go, but thankfully the Master apparently hadn't seen the film and after a moment pulled the Doctor up onto the platform with a grunt.

The Doctor panted for air, rolling onto his side to look at the Master. "Thank you," he choked out.

The Master didn't reply to that, just smoothed down the creases in his clothes; really sort of a pointless act considering he was covered in soot and blood. Then he bent down to the Doctor and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him along the floor towards the end of a platform where a square hole was in the floor, some sort of shaft leading down from it. It was quite clearly a rubbish chute.

"Oh no," the Doctor said quickly, realising what he was about to do. "No, no, no..."

"Yes, yes, yes," the Master responded, and swiftly threw him in the hole.

The Doctor yelped again as he suddenly found himself travelling down the chute like the most terrifying amusement park slide. He twisted and turned in the chute, plunging through the darkness and smashing into the sides until he saw a circular light at the end of the tunnel, passed through, and then promptly smashed feet first into an angular metal platform.

It threw him back into another platform, this time flat, rolling so far he only just about managed to stop himself falling over the side. The platform suddenly disappeared from beneath him and he found himself falling again, down onto yet another platform. This one wobbled, tilted and he hit another one, something quite plainly cracking in his side as that one disappeared too and he finally dropped down into another chute head first. He popped out the other end, hit three more platforms and went through a final chute, hit a final platform, and was promptly hit in the side by a final hydraulic piston like he was a pinball, propelling him into the air and across a giant room lined with giant metal tips to land in a pile of smelly fabrics. Roughly seven seconds later the Master appeared at the bottom of the metal maze, was propelled over to the Doctor, but managed to land a lot more gracefully than he had.

There wasn't even any time for an argument as suddenly the tip began to move with the grumble of engine power. It quickly became apparent that they were heading back towards the incinerator, and as quickly as they could they both struggled over the side of the tip. The Doctor hit the floor in a mess of limbs, and before he could gather himself together the Master was already on the move.

"Hurry up!" he yelled rudely, and disappeared through a side-door.

The Doctor groaned and got to his feet, holding his side as he stumbled after the Master into a corridor.

"We need to find the others, the Doctor groaned.

"Who cares," the Master dismissed, waving an uncaring hand.

"They could be in trouble," the Doctor protested.

"Who cares," the Master repeated. "They're not needed."

"_I _need them," the Doctor spat.

"Go and find them then," the Master responded simply.

"Fine," the Doctor snapped, and turned back in the other direction. Within seconds he felt his arm being grabbed.

"All right, don't be ridiculous," the Master said. "Follow me. There's a good boy."

The Doctor wrenched his arm from the Master's hold, his eyes narrowing. "I'm going to find them."

"They're _fine," _the Master insisted. "They'll be heading up if they find a brain cell between th-"

"Shush," the Doctor suddenly ordered, hand in the air. "Can you hear that?"

The Master did indeed stop and listen. There were the quiet sounds of cries and screams coming from above them...

The Doctor was off immediately, still holding onto his side as they made it to the stairs. He groaned and began to ascend, gripping onto the handrail to try and pull himself up. The Master was also having a bit of trouble ascending the stairs, but managed to keep pace with the Doctor.

"I just saved your life, you know," the Master pointed out.

"I know, and I thanked you," the Doctor replied seriously.

"Is that it?" the Master wondered.

"What else d'you want? A knighthood?"

"Well, next time I won't bother then. I'll let big brother save the day for you."

"He stays out of this," the Doctor grated.

"I bet you're chuffed aren't you?"

"What?"

"Now Braxiatel is here you don't have to bother with me anymore. He'll do all the fighting for you..."

"Be quiet," the Doctor snapped.

"Little baby brother Thete, pooped all over the vortex," the Master mocked. "Don't worry, Braxiatel will clean it up..."

The Doctor rounded on him, angry. "Look, I'm sorry for whatever he did to you, but frankly you probably deserved it."

The Master's eyes widened. "Oh, is this the royal, worshipped Doctor, _condoning_ violence?"

The Doctor's eyes inflamed. "I'll condone it against _you_."

"I suppose I should feel privileged...?" the Master responded sarcastically.

"I _hate_ you," the Doctor spat.

"Hate is such a _strong _abstract concept," the Master muttered airily.

The Doctor breathed out through gritted teeth, desperately trying to keep it together. He rapidly decided to try and ignore the Master and turned to start up the stairs again, leaving the Master behind. They finally got to the next floor, the Doctor standing waiting by the door, one hand still clutching his side. The Master used his laser screwdriver, and the door opened.

Instantly they were both hit in the face by a combination of a horrific smell; the sound of crying and screaming... and the sight of horrific remains of dead aliens strewn all over the floor.

They stepped forward, and suddenly a side door opened and someone ploughed into the Master's side. The Master yelped in alarm as he fell into a dried puddle of blood on the floor, the sound of someone _screaming _in his ears. He flipped over to come face to face with a Polanquian; a primal look in its eyes as it plunged its teeth right into his shoulder and tore away his skin – _eating _him.

The Master shouted in pain. "Doctor!" he yelled, and within moments the Polanquian collapsed in a dead faint, the Doctor standing above him with his hand outstretched. The Master took it and helped himself up, gasping.

"Are you all right?" the Doctor wondered.

"I just nearly got _eaten!" _the Master hissed, pressing his hand to his now bleeding shoulder. "What do _you _think!?"

"Doctor?" came a voice from somewhere close by. "Doctor..."

The Doctor and the Master both frowned in tandem, and after a moment the Doctor was off with the Master close behind him. They followed the direction of the voice in amongst the cries and screams to a large metal door rusted to death. The Master dutifully unlocked it with his laser screwdriver, and they both peeked inside.

They both froze on the spot.

"Meera?" the Master realised, the Doctor already running towards her to check her over. She was tied up, covered in blood and bruises and just sat there against the wall, limp, with tens of staring corpses just littered around her like carpet.

"Meera," the Doctor urged, cupping her chin. She was completely malnourished. He could feel her bones protruding through her pasty skin. "Meera, talk to me."

Meera's eyes opened, just slightly. "Doctor," she breathed. "I'm s-sorry..."

"Don't be ridiculous," the Doctor said quickly. "You've got nothing to apologise for."

"I told them you were heading to the Proclamation, that you were getting the supply ship from Haxun One... They had a torturix gun... I couldn't... I didn't..."

"It's okay," the Doctor said quickly, carefully dabbing at her wounds with the bottom of his shirt as the Master stood there,staring with raised eyebrows. A torturix gun was completely illegal – created purely to cause pain, and nothing else. "Tell me exactly what the Proclamation did, Meera."

"They killed the planet... arrested me... Oh K'ialk, there were so many bodies... They wanted to know where you were... I wouldn't say, so they used the torturix gun... I told them, I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay, Meera," the Doctor insisted, ripping off a bit of his shirt and wrapping up the worst of her wounds. "What did they do then?"

"They put me in here... They've just left us... Everyone's gone insane..." She suddenly sobbed, looking around at the bodies on the floor. "They all just... just killed themselves..."

The Doctor swallowed, and the Master's eyes widened.

"But there's a group... some people broke through a wall in the next room and escaped..." she continued, gasping. "I think they're f-fighting the Judoon on the upper floors..."

The Doctor nodded. He wished he could treat her wounds better, but he couldn't do anything. "Then we'll help them. Come on, you're not staying here."

He took an affirming breath to try and ignore the pain and made to lift her up, but she suddenly screeched in pain and he resigned to let go of her quickly.

"No," she gasped. "I can't. Please... leave me."

"I can't leave you here," the Doctor said immediately, though already knew at the back of his mind that it would be _very _difficult to take her with them, not with the state he and the Master were currently in.

"You must," she sobbed. "Just stop the Proclamation, please, Doctor."

The Doctor swallowed, glancing at the Master before looking at Meera. "Okay. We'll go. But I'm coming back for you, okay? You and everyone here. The Proclamation aren't getting away with this. We'll be back in a maximum of one hour, I promise."

She nodded, tears rolling down her face.

"You'll be okay," he assured her. "How about I lock the door to make sure no one can come in?"

She nodded again.

"Okay," he said, squeezing her hand and giving her a reassuring smile. "Just wait here," he finished, and got to his feet. He and the Master then left out of the door, and the Master obligingly locked it behind them.

The Doctor began to walk with some kind of renewed vigour. The Master accelerated after him, still holding his shoulder.

"She's going to die long before we get back to her," the Master pointed out seriously.

"Be quiet," the Doctor ordered, pointing at the next door. The Master obligingly unlocked it, and they stepped through to find a massive hole in the wall just as Meera had said. They passed through and reached a makeshift ladder propped up against the wall. The Doctor stepped up onto the first rung, wincing as he did so. "I won't let her die."

"You've lost track of reality. You've spent too long with humans, _Doctor,_" the Master called after him, speaking out his name as though throwing it up."Especially that clingy wife of yours. And those stupid little half-ling children you dare to call Gallifreyan. They're all _pathetic."_

The Doctor stopped dead.

The Master upped his attack. "Little runts, your family. All of them. They will never amount to anything. Too much human; too much stupid. You smell like human, Theta Sigma. It smells like manure."

The Doctor spun around on the ladder, and with half a second the Master had hurtled backwards into the wall from the pure impact of the Doctor's fist on his face. Then suddenly the Doctor was standing over him, utterly furious.

"_Never _talk about my family," the Doctor growled, not even blinking.

"You just punched me!" the Master gasped in shock, looking at the blood on his fingers from where he'd wiped his nose.

The Doctor ignored him, his eyes still narrowed. "If you do that again, I will _kill_ you."

"You wouldn't," the Master challenged, desperate to get back in control. "You said that last time and never could. Let me go saying some tedious nonsense like seeing how I'd live with what I did..."

The Doctor didn't reply verbally, simply reached behind his back and pulled out a shiv – specifically, a piece of rock fashioned into a sharp point with ripped material acting as a handle. He knelt down to the Master and held it to his face, their noses inches apart. His expression had turned into something the Master didn't recognise. "One year into Volag-Noc, and I knew I was going insane. I needed something to pass the time – to focus my mind. A piece of rock broke off the top of my cell after they dropped my monthly food in and it hit my head. You have to understand, Master. That was _pain_. You need to be in that position to understand how _strange _pain is when you've felt nothing and talked to no onefor a year. It was _fascinating, _and it gave me an idea; something to give myself a focus. I picked up the rock, and started grinding it against the walls. It took six months to get it down to sharp point. Then I started using it."

The Master's eyes widened. "You didn't..."

"It was the _only _thing I could do. Really focuses the mind, pain. Of course, you know all about that."

"You've gone insane," the Master realised in a croak.

The Doctor burst out laughing, but it had no humour to it. "Of _course_ I'm insane. I spent twelve years sitting in the dark in a puddle of cold water on my own for twelve years, and it's _all your_ fault."

"How is it my fault?"

"You sold me out to the Proclamation," the Doctor hissed, moving the shiv perilously close to the Master's neck. "You _let_ them have me. You put mine, my wife's and my daughter's DNA into the Echo generation... You _made_ Echo. You _made_ this time loop happen. This is _all _your fault."

The Master could see in his eyes a serious streak of hatred beyond comprehension, and suddenly this wasn't just having fun annoying the Doctor. This was _serious_.

The Doctor could, and _would, _kill him.

"I'm sorry," the Master said seriously.

"Not good enough!" the Doctor snapped. "You've turned me into this... this _thing_. These thoughts I'm having, they're not right. They don't seem like my own."

"Doctor..." the Master croaked, for once in his life completely caught off-guard.

"I don't think Brax is real, or Jack. I don't even think you're real. I'm still in that hole. I know I am. Because I still feel _cold."_

"You need help, Thete."

"_Don't _call me _Thete!" _the Doctor spat out, clutching his shiv tighter. "Don't you _dare!_"

"Sorry, Doctor," the Master amended. "But you're not well."

"Once I get back to my family, I'll be fine. _Everything_ will be fine. I _know _it will. I _will _get back to them, and you won't stand in my way. Until then, you do _exactly _what I say, when I say it. Is that understood!?"

"Yes," the Master said quickly.

"If you don't, I _will _kill you," the Doctor added, his gaze lingering for a moment until he finally stood up and sheathed his weapon. Then, as abruptly as it had started, the Doctor turned and was up the ladder again as though nothing had even happened.

Nervously, the Master got to his feet and followed him. There was a very strange, empty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

**A/N: ***hugs Doctor*

... Literally don't know what's even going on with him any more.


	33. Floor 500

**A/N:** This chapter has been a pain in butt. I kinda hate it. Which is terrible, because it's kinda supposed to be the big climax. ARGH.

* * *

Chapter 33 – Floor 500

Brax, Jack and Echo had woken up almost entirely simultaneously in the remains of the lift. They found themselves all piled into one corner covered in debris, the lift itself now a mangled burning wreck at the bottom of the shaft.

Together they all managed to crawl out of the carnage and found a medical kit on the wall to try and patch themselves up. Echo's head was bleeding badly and Brax was cradling his arm, though refused anything more than a quick bandage. He was far too occupied with pacing back and forth in agitation at the fact the Doctor and the Master were nowhere to be seen.

"Brax, sit down," Jack implored as he wiped away the last of the blood from Echo's head. He didn't have a concussion, which was something at least.

"We've got to find them," Brax insisted, still pacing up and down. "Theta!?" he yelled, and started in the direction he could feel his brother and the Master hanging around somewhere below.

"Brax!" Jack called as he finished fixing up Echo. "He's fine. We need to head up."

Brax turned back, incredulous. "I am _not _leaving him with that taipan!"

Jack sighed, helping Echo to his feet. "Brax, remember. Trust your brother."

Brax sighed through gritted teeth, closing his eyes and trying to calm himself down. "... Okay," he eventually said, looking around again. "We head up."

"Thank you," Jack said seriously.

Brax just harrumphed in reply, and started up some access steps in a bold stride.

Jack glanced at Echo. "You all right?" he asked.

Echo nodded, holding his head.

"We'll be back home by tomorrow," Jack assured him with a smile and a hand on his shoulder.

Echo didn't reply to that verbally, just returned the smile. He then let go of his head and started in pursuit of Brax, with Jack two paces behind.

* * *

The Doctor and the Master reached the top of the makeshift ladder, and immediately found themselves bang-slap in the middle of a war zone. There was a crescendo of screaming, bullets flew over their heads, and an explosion rang out nearby that was so forceful they nearly both fell down the ladder.

The Doctor looked around quickly to take in the scene – a crowd of lifeforms versus the Judoon, and they were giving the Judoon one hell of a fight. The Doctor took a breath, and forced himself up into the hailstorm, keeping to the floor. He tried to offer the Master a hand to help him up, but he was interrupted by a yell.

"Thete!"

His arm was grabbed and before he knew it he was being pulled across the corridor into side-room. He struggled for a moment until he finally saw who it was, and froze.

"Tchan! What are you doing here!?" he asked, struggling to his feet.

Tchan grinned at him. "We thought you might need a hand."

The Master arrived seconds later, panting for breath. "Doctor, have you..."

"That's the Doctor!?" someone else suddenly yelled, and instantly the Doctor found himself surrounded by a huge crowd. There were so many of them...

"It's all over the news," Tchan explained, seeing the confusion in the Doctor's face. "About the Proclamation, what happened to you and who the Echoes are, about Volag-Noc and that the Proclamation slaughtered my planet. Fights are breaking out everywhere against the police. People keep arriving here to help the fight."

The Doctor, for once, was utterly speechless.

"You need to go to the control tower?" Tchan assumed.

The Doctor nodded.

"We can take you to floor 495, but you'll have to do the last five," Tchan said. "It's in complete lock-down up there."

The Doctor nodded again, swallowing. "Thank you, Tchan."

Tchan smiled at him, and looked back at the crowd that had gathered. "Everyone, keep the Judoon distracted. Gro, Chin, Kaxas and Ze'plo, you're with us. The Judoon don't get anywhere near the Time Lords."

* * *

When Jack, Echo and Brax finally made it to floor 495 after countless flights of stairs and a maze of mostly malfunctioning teleports, it had been a full hour since the lift had broken and there was still no sign of the Doctor and the Master.

Jack made the decision to keep ascending, as Brax could feel them quite close by. It was a relief to everyone when they got to floor 497 and caught sight of the two down the other end of the the corridor, facing away.

"Thete!" Brax yelled, and the moment the Doctor turned, the entire corridor exploded. Brax was sent hurtling into the wall as Jack grabbed Echo and threw himself over him to protect him from the flying debris.

"Brax!" the Doctor yelled as the debris began to settle, and he ran forward, stumbling over the mess to get to his brother, buried beneath the rubble. He groaned and gasped in pain as he tried to lift the mess off of Brax, the wall already stained with blood.

Jack leapt off of Echo and went to help the Doctor, the both of them eventually uncovering Brax who was lying unconscious against the wall, blood on his head.

"Brax!" the Doctor urged, shaking his shoulder. "Brax, wake up!"

"I'll carry him," Jack said quickly, but just before he could take hold the Master suddenly shouted in alarm, and they all turned to find him standing there with something silver and metal around his neck. Then he was lifted off of his feet and slammed into the left wall with tremendous force, then the right with an equal impact, before his clearly unconscious body dropped to the floor with the device still around his neck. Jack, the Doctor and Echo's eyes simultaneously and quickly followed the device from the Master's neck, up a long silver wire and straight to a Shadow Architect at the trigger of a completely illegal choker gun.

"Get back!" the Doctor yelled, but he was snatched too. Jack lunged for his ankle but the controlling architect was too quick, slamming him into four surfaces before he hit the floor too, choking.

"Get away," the Doctor coughed in Jack's general direction, struggling to breathe through the device attached to his neck, which the architect was squeezing more and more with every passing second... "Get... to..."

"Echo, activate!" the Architect bellowed.

Echo suddenly stopped panting for breath next to Jack, and instead fell completely silent. His eyes narrowed, his body tensed, and slowly he rose up to his full height...

"Kill all of them!" the Architect ordered, throwing out a hand.

He turned to Jack, not even blinking.

"Echo, chill out!" Jack yelled, backing away nervously. "Echo,_ chill out!"_

Echo kept walking forwards, holding out his hands.

"Echo, chill out!" Jack yelled again desperately, but it wasn't having any affect. The Architect just laughed, an ear-piercing cackle of a laugh, and let go of the trigger on the choker gun.

She then stepped forward, heading right towards the helpless Brax lying on the floor.

* * *

The metal lines from the choker gun had retracted, but the rings were still attached to the Doctor and the Master's necks, wrapped around tightly.

The Doctor's lips were beginning to turn blue, his eyes bulging. He couldn't suck any air in or even get any out. His body was starting to burn and his vision was blurring... He was suffocating to death, and pulling on the ring around his neck wasn't helping to any degree. It was completely locked in place.

_No._ He_ wasn't_ dying, not now. He switched to his respiratory bypass system, forced himself to his knees and planned what he could do to stop this within the following three seconds he had of clarity. Then he lunged for the Master's pocket and through the type of luck only found in a rigged fairground game, he managed to get his hands around the laser screwdriver. He yanked it out so hard and fast all the fabric ripped, but he didn't care. He pointed the tip to his neck and fumbled, uncoordinated for the button.

It didn't work.

_Isomorphic pile of...!_

He managed to get a slight scream of frustration out from somewhere inside his abused throat and turned over again to fumble for the unconscious Master's hand. The Doctor's bypass was beginning to run out and he knew it, and that was sending adrenaline rushing through his body which was heavily aggravating the alere flamman. He felt as if he was going bust into flames again, the pain was _excruciating_._.._

He managed to get the Master's hand around the screwdriver, and with a little extra fumbling managed to get his thumb on the switch. Then with a final buzz and a click the metal collar dropped away and the Doctor fell onto all fours, gasping for air between choked coughs.

He managed to get enough sight back to take off the Master's collar before finally collapsing onto his back, still coughing.

* * *

Echo's hands were still raised, ready to grip around Jack's neck as he continued his advance on the immortal.

Jack was fully backed up against the wall now, staring into Echo's eyes. They were fixed to his – a strange kind of emptiness behind those big brown irises.

"No, no," Jack was saying repeatedly, absolutely terrified Echo would kill him. It wasn't so much his own death he was concerned about, but the impact it would have. Echo would give the three Time Lords a far more permanent death, before Echo himself was stolen by the Proclamation forever and forced to do their bidding through illegal torture methods... "It's me, it's Jack. Echo, chill out!"

Suddenly Echo stopped abruptly, and frowned. Jack broadened a smile at him, nodding encouragingly.

"It's me, Jack, remember?" Jack said quickly, hand on his heart. "I'm your friend. We're all your friends."

"Jack..." Echo croaked, not having blinked.

"Yeah, Jack. I'm Jack. We're friends. D'you remember us being friends?"

Echo just stared at him. His eyes were beginning to water at the edges...

"Please, come back to me," Jack found himself begging. He was almost about to cry too. "Please, Echo."

"Kill them, Echo!" the Architect suddenly shrieked from the side. "Kill them, _now!"_

Echo let out a scream, a scream of fear, pain, terror and anger all combined into a mish-mash of the most complicated emotion Jack had ever seen in his life. Then just as the figures of the Doctor and the Master rose in the background holding their necks and heads, Echo spun around and punched the Architect right in the face.

It clearly caught her by surprise as she hit the floor, tripping over her own dress on the way down. Jack, the Doctor and the Master barely had time to blink before Echo was on her with a knife in his hand, held right to her neck. His entire face was tensed, his jaw set in concrete with his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows lowered, spittle on his lip.

He was _so angry._

"No," Jack managed to whisper, daring to edge forward. "You can't."

Echo didn't speak, just stared at the Architect lying helpless beneath his knife. Jack dared to edge forward a little more.

"Not today, not ever," Jack said seriously. "I hate her too but this isn't how it should be fixed. This isn't who you are."

"Maybe it is," Echo suddenly mumbled.

"What?"

"Maybe it is," Echo repeated, stronger. "Maybe this is me."

"What d'you mean?" Jack asked, frowning.

"I was made to follow orders," Echo grated through gritted teeth, his knife still at the Architect's throat. "Maybe this is me. Maybe I don't mind killing people. This is what I was made to do."

"Maybe you were made to do that, but not now," Jack insisted, wide-eyed. "You're just alive. You're made to live. You don't have to have a reason to exist."

"But I was made for a purpose," Echo insisted.

"Not anymore," Jack said seriously. "You're just you."

"I don't even have a name!" Echo yelled out, tensing even more.

"I've been thinking about that," Jack said, stepping forward again. "How about Zak?"

"... What?"

"Just an idea," Jack replied, shrugging. "It's got a nice meaning."

"What does it mean?" Echo croaked.

"The Lord remembered."

Echo fell silent, still staring at the Architect.

"Echo needs to be killed!" the Architect suddenly rasped. "Time Lord!" She shot a look at the Master stood there, watching the events unfold in front of him with a hand still on his head. "Echo is far too dangerous! You must kill it!"

"Oh, don't involve me in this," the Master said seriously, raising his hands and backing away slightly.

"Echo cannot suppress or control its emotions, as it is inexperienced with them! It is a ticking combat time-bomb grown in our favour! It is so dangerous it needs to be controlled; trained to react to a code word! Echo will always be dangerous and unpredictable! It will kill all of you!"

"Echo is perfectly fine, it's _you _who's the problem!" Jack burst out, trying desperately to control himself but was failing quite badly.

"You're going to protect it, human? This _thing?" _the Architect shrieked in astonishment.

"This _thing _is my friend," Jack retorted rudely. "He might be a specimen to you but to me he's a person. A proper person with memories and emotions and a hell of a personality. He's got a sense of humour, he can lie and apologise and do everything I can, most of the time about ten times better. He's not a _thing, _he's a beautiful person!"

Echo suddenly looked up at him, his eyes shining. Jack didn't look at him, transfixed to the Architect.

"That's how you made him," the Doctor continued, glancing at Jack. "As a thing. Something material to be used and discarded as you please. You forgot the impact of emotions. It never even crossed your mind that your creations would be sentient enough to have a sense of humour, did it? Even now you can't even _begin _to understand just how sentient he is. But you'll never see it, because you're so busy seeing him as your creation to be controlled and used that you don't even notice do you? You've made life, Architect, and you're treating it like a machine. You've taken a baby and tried to turn it to metal."

The Architect had nothing to reply to that, and finally Jack managed to break his cold, hard gaze to look at Echo. "Let's go," his said seriously, holding out his hand.

"No, Jack," the Doctor suddenly said, raising a hand. "I think it's up to Echo to decide what happens next."

Jack did a double-take, looking up at the Time Lord. "What?"

"He has a point. Echo has his own head, his own personality," the Doctor pointed out. "Maybe he _does_ like killing people. Right?" He looked at Echo. "What do you think? Still want to kill her? We won't stop you."

Echo looked between Jack, the Architect and the Doctor, and within about five seconds he stood up, dropping the knife to the floor.

"No," was all he said.

The Doctor smiled as Echo backed away to Jack, who grabbed him in a hug. The Architect just stared at her own creation, wide-eyed in disbelief.

The Doctor dropped to Brax, who was now conscious and looking at his brother with a dropped jaw.

"Thete, that was amazing," he said quietly, accepting a hand up.

"That was part one," the Doctor replied brazenly, his smile turning to a grin as he checked his brother's head, and gave him the all clear.

Brax smiled back at him, giving him a hearty slap on the back. "Heading up, I assume?"

The Doctor nodded. "I'm right behind you. Just going to sort out our Architect."

Jack, Echo, Brax and the Master all headed up the stairs, the latter lingering for a moment to stare at the Doctor. The Doctor just smiled at him. The Master didn't react, just carried on up the stairs to leave the Doctor alone with the Architect.

Without a flicker of hesitation, he picked up a piece of debris – a pliable pipe that had been blasted out of the wall. He then walked over to the Architect, grabbed her wrist, and fixed it to the wall with a few twists. He then dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Kill me now, Time Lord!" she hissed.

The Doctor gazed at her. "You've been shown mercy by one person who had every right to kill you," he said clearly. "Trouble is, there's billions more out there baying for your blood who maybe aren't so merciful. The Shadow Proclamation is finished, Architect. You no longer hold any power, and everyone you've wronged will come after you, looking for their retribution. Right now in their heads they are planning exactly how to make you suffer. I'm sure it won't be quick, and most definitely won't be pleasant."

The Architect just stared at him.

"There are thousands of them a couple of floors below us, slaughtering your Judoon," he continued, pointing down through the floor. "Slowly heading up. I give them about thirty minutes before they find you."

For once, the Architect looked a little afraid, unable to break her gaze from him.

"I'm not going to kill you," he continued, his smile offering no trace of warmth whatsoever. "I'm going to offer you an escape. It's up to you."

He pushed Echo's dropped knife within her reaching distance. Then he simply got up, and walked away.

He didn't even flinch as he heard the sound of the blade and the small whimper of a life ending behind him.

* * *

Up in the control tower, the last Architect watched the surveillance monitor, observing her kin die by her own hand with a strange kind of resignation. The Time Lords were coming.

She turned to the log monitor, and commenced her final recording.

"This is the last living member of the Shadow Proclamation High Council, recording what I expect to be our last log, Universal time 25.01/7. We are falling, one by one. We should have never meddled with its family. We should have left them alone. We are the makers of our own demise. We created Echo, and now one by one it is hunting the High Council down and executing us for what we have done.

"I know not of its face, or its voice, but Echo makes it clear that it cares only for our deaths. It strikes from the shadows, kills, and is gone in a blink. They say to see Echo in the flesh is to see Death incarnate. It shows no mercy, no remorse, no love for the ones that it seeks. Only I remain, but I know not for long.

"But I truly believe that we deserve nothing less. We had taken control of an innocent life and warped it until it became our own retribution. We cannot ask for forgiveness. Echo is the end of the Shadow Proclamation. The child of the Doctor will come for me. I pray only that death will alleviate my guilt for the horrendous damage we have done."

* * *

Jack, the Master, the Doctor, Braxiatel and Echo all stepped up behind her. The Architect didn't turn around.

"I suppose this is my end," she said quietly.

"Yes," the Doctor said softly, stepping forward again.

The Architect finally turned, seeing them all standing there. Jack, the Master and Echo immediately recognised her as the one who had cowered behind her fellow Architect.

"Doctor," she said, staring at him sadly. "I am so sorry for what has been done to you."

"If you apologise to everyone you wronged than we'd all be here until the end of the Universe, so let's take it as read, shall we?" He stepped forward again, raising a finger and jerking it at her as he spoke his next sentence. _"You _no longer have any right to hold any kind of power over anyone. From now, your presence is as a spectator. I am taking charge of the Proclamation immediately."

"As you wish," she murmured, barely able to look him in the eye.

There was a sudden bleeping from the Architect's console, and a voice came through on the comms.

"_Echo Three has been captured," _a Judoon gruffed. _"Permission to execute at will?"_

The Doctor just gazed at her. She nodded at him, leant forward to the comm and pressed a button. "Stand down, commander."

"_Permission to execute at will!?" _the Judoon repeated, as if unable to believe what she had said.

"Stand down. Let Echo Three go. That's an order. And henceforth, you all will take all orders from the Doctor. Is that understood?"

There was no reply.

"Is that understood!?" she urged.

"_... Yes," _the Judoon gruffed eventually. _"Echo Three has been released."_

The Doctor went to the comm and took over. "Do not pursue Echo Three, Commander. Go and have a lunch break, or watch TV, or whatever you Judoon do when you're not scaremongering. Echo Three is no longer a threat."

"_Yessir," _the Judoon gruffed again.

Echo One immediately stepped forward. "This is my turn."

The Doctor looked at him. "Are you sure?"

Echo One nodded. "Take the Architect somewhere safe. I'll wait for Echo Three."

Jack quickly moved forward to hug Echo One. "Be safe," was all he said.

"It's okay," Echo One replied, smiling. "After everything so far, this is the easy bit."

Jack couldn't help but laugh at that.

"By the way," Echo One began, squeezing Jack's hand. "I like the name."

"Zak?"

Echo One nodded. "Call me Zak."

"All right, Zak," Jack replied, giving him a wink. "Let's get this done and get back to Earth."

Zak nodded again. Jack then patted him on the shoulder, and joined the others as they moved out of the door. Zak sighed, rolled back his shoulders, and dropped into the chair. He waited all of two minutes for Echo Three to arrive, signalled by a slam of the door.

"Why... Why did you order them to let me go, Architect!?" she demanded from behind him.

"... Because I can't let you do this anymore, Leah," he replied softly, staring straight ahead.

She gasped. "... Father?"

He slowly spun the chair, edging around slowly until he came face to face with Echo Three, standing there with a knife still held out, a long black robe obscuring her, stained with blood.

She dropped the knife immediately reaching up to pull off her hood. Then there she was, a beautiful young woman with long braided brown hair, her face marked with dark tribal tattoos. Her deep brown eyes were shining in the dim light, her lip trembling.

"... You're... you're alive..." she realised, shaking.

He got up, and walked to her. She immediately fell into his arms, crying her heart out.

"We've been lied to so much, Leah," he whispered, holding her close. "But we're not going to listen anymore. We're not echoes. We're people."


	34. The New Proclamation

**A/N:** Well, that was weirdly quick!

By the way, we're heading for the end, now. And you should also know this is the longest story I've ever written. Kudos to all of you for making it this far!

* * *

Chapter 34 – A New Proclamation

At the news of the fall of the Shadow Proclamation, the Judoon had quickly stopped fighting on all worlds. The Doctor had sent out a message on all frequencies declaring every planet to assume martial law until an alternative could be found. The fighting was called off on the lower decks, the prison with Meera evacuated. The Architect was kept under guard in her quarters and they had put Tchan in charge, who had made himself busy ensuring the injured were being taken care of and the dead were being laid out ready to be given a proper funeral, no matter what their side.

The newly named Zak, Echo Three, the Doctor, the Master, Jack and Braxiatel had gathered together in the control room of the Proclamation, sitting in a circle on the floor in amongst the mess of wires and broken mainframes. Zak had an arm around his clone daughter as she stared at the floor, clearly ashamed.

The Doctor smiled at her, reassuring. "Don't look like that."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Is it still Leah?" the Doctor wondered.

She shook her head. "Leya."

The Doctor nodded. "Can you remember what happened when you were born in the Proclamation, Leya?"

"I remember everything," she said quietly.

"What happened?"

"I was really scared, so I screamed for you, Dad, and you came. You picked me up and hugged me and kissed me really tightly. You were just crying. You put me in an escape pod. You programmed it, then kissed me again and told me you were sorry and that these people would keep me safe. Then the Judoon came, so you sealed the escape pod and launched it. I saw the Judoon grab you. I thought you died. Then I don't remember anything until I woke up in a hut in this tribe. They were checking my hearts so I think they worked out I was Gallifreyan, I told them you were my father.

"The village adopted me after that. They called me Leya cos they couldn't pronounce my name. Then when I was nine I started getting really bad headaches, and right at that time the Judoon came, looking for me. They raided the village just to find me. A lot of people died. They could've thrown me out, but they didn't. I got sicker and sicker and they stood by me, saved up to take me to the hospital on the next planet where they found my tracking chip, and took it out. I found out what I was, then. That I was an Echo, I mean.

"When I was eleven I told them I wanted to avenge you and the people the Judoon had killed. They agreed, and helped me get ready. I left three months ago. Killing them has been so easy. I'm sorry, Dad. I was so angry."

Zak looked at the Doctor, wide-eyed. "I didn't do that."

"I know, I did," the Doctor replied quietly.

"When?"

"That was how I got taken to Volag-Noc," the Doctor explained. "I had to get you somewhere safe, Leya, so I sent you to the Kinaxa tribe on the planet Kigaa. I knew they'd figure out you were my daughter and that something bad must have happened to me. I knew they'd take care of you for me."

"They did," she said, nodding and wiping at her eyes. "But I'm a murderer."

"Doesn't really matter," the Doctor assured her, blasé.

"But I should go to prison," she said, confused.

"Which would make sense, if there actually was a prison to go to," the Doctor pointed out. "And that's a big problem. The Universe can't live under martial law forever. A new Proclamation needs to be established, one that's fair and not corrupted like before. Somebody needs to take charge, run Volag-Noc and keep the peace."

"Who?" Jack asked seriously.

The Doctor's eyes flickered to Zak, and gazed at him unrelentingly.

"Me?" Zak realised in a question, staring at the Doctor with wide-eyes.

"You and Leya," the Doctor corrected.

Leya also stared at him disbelievingly, unable to speak for a moment through the shock of what he was saying. "Me?"

"Who better?" the Doctor asked, smiling.

"But..." Zak and Leya began together in protest.

"You've experienced the worst of the Proclamation," the Doctor said seriously. "You're the two best people to know how to run it completely the opposite to how it was. We'll help you." The Doctor looked at Brax and Jack in indication.

Brax nodded at him. "We will, all we can," Brax said to the two.

"We'll try and get you a running start," the Doctor added. "But you're going to be travelling a lot. You'll need to visit all the major planets and some minor ones too to gain their trust. You have to tell them your story. The people won't just accept you blindly... It's not going to be easy by any means."

Zak nodded slowly, glancing at Leya. "... We could do that," he said slowly, and looked at Jack, who hadn't spoken for some time. "Jack?" he asked, looking at him with hopeful eyes.

"Sounds like a great idea!" Jack enthused, grinning at him.

Zak smiled at him, nodding and sitting up straight. "Okay, I'm in."

"Me too," Leya said, for the first time managing a full, genuine smile.

"Braxiatel, all's being sorted down below," a voice suddenly came from the doorway, and they all looked up to see Tchan standing there, vone in hand. "Volag-Noc is about to be evacuated and real offenders processed. Is there anything else I can do?"

The Doctor looked at Brax, and they both grinned.

"Zak, Leya, meet your new CEO," the Doctor said, gesturing at Tchan.

Tchan froze. "Umm... What?"

"Someone needs to keep the place tidy while you two are off around the universe," Brax pointed out.

Tchan looked even more confused, turning around to check there wasn't someone standing behind him. "Err... What's going on?"

"We're reforming the Proclamation," Brax told him, trying not to laugh at his utterly befuddled expression.

"Zak and Leya are in charge," the Doctor continued, pointing at each in turn. "Me, Jack and Brax are advisers, and now we've got a CEO."

"Oh," Tchan realised, still dumbfounded.

"And are you staying here?" the Doctor wondered to Zak and Leya, looking at their half-destroyed surroundings.

Zak closed his eyes, swallowing slightly. "No. I couldn't. Not here."

"How about my planet?" Tchan suggested. "Haxun One? I mean... It's pretty empty now."

Leya frowned. "Wouldn't that be hard for you?"

For the first time, Tchan looked properly at Leya, and realised immediately who she was. "It was you, wasn't it!?" he realised, pointing at her. "You were there that night!"

She nodded. "I'm sorry. That was horrible."

"You saved my life," Tchan croaked.

She nodded again. "I couldn't leave you."

Tchan smiled at her in return. "Thank you. And yeah, it'll be weird, but this is what they would've wanted. My people would've been honoured for our planet to get used in this way."

"Tchan, can you arrange funerals and repatriation for the dead?" she asked, standing up. "We wanna get everyone back home."

"Yeah," Tchan said, nodding, holding up his vone again. "Let me make a few calls."

"And get everyone on Haxun One, I want to destroy this place," Zak said, getting to his feet beside Leya.

Tchan nodded again. "No problem," he said casually, gave a half-salute and then turned his attention to his vone as he walked out of the door. "Hey, Ze'plo, d'you and your team fancy a job...?"

"Right," the Doctor began, getting to his feet. "One thing to sort, and then we'll head back to Earth."

Zak blinked in surprise. "... Wait, you're going? You can't go!"

The Doctor smiled briefly at his stunned expression. "I need to go home," he said gently. "But you're fine for now."

"But..." Zak began, looking around at them all in turn.

Leya laughed for the first time, a genuine, heart-warming laugh. "We'll be fine, Dad."

"You really will," the Doctor assured them sincerely. "As long as you stick together. And you..." He turned to Leya. "Look after him. He's as clever as me but he's probably just as stupid too."

"Hey!" Zak protested, but Leya and the Doctor just laughed together as he hugged and kissed her good bye.

"And don't feel bad," the Doctor said seriously when they both drew back. "You're not a murderer. You're really not."

Her face fell again, her eyes dropping to the floor.

"Look at me," the Doctor ordered, and she looked back up again. "I'm serious. Clone or no clone, you're still my daughter, and there's not an ounce of evil in you. I promise."

"But I'm a killer..."

"No," he interrupted swiftly. "You're not. Look at Tchan. He was an innocent boy caught up in the worst situation imaginable, and you saved his life. And I know you helped other people too, Leya. You only killed the people you knew had done an incredible injustice. Yes, that's wrong too, but this is how you can get your redemption. Rebuild the Proclamation. Help those who need help."

Leya sniffed slightly, blinking back the tears as she looked up at him with those big brown eyes. "... Have you ever killed someone, Dad?"

He gazed at her for a moment, and in that moment he saw her as he remembered her – the little curious four-year-old with long wavy brown hair and a chronic ability to ask all the most difficult questions.

He couldn't lie to her. He never had before.

"... Yes," he muttered.

"How long does it take to stop thinking about it?"

"... I haven't got to that bit yet."

She hugged him again. He almost felt like crying with the hearts-ache in his chest as images of Rose, Leah, Alex and Kiana flood his brain. He missed them so badly he could feel his eyes starting to well.

She seemed to detect that, reaching up to wipe beneath his eyes with her thumb. "How old is she?"

"Who?"

"Leah."

He smiled briefly at her. "She's four."

"Be really, really nice to her," she said, pulling an adorable Rose smile.

He couldn't help but smile back. "I will."

"And buy her lots of presents," Leya added, her smile turning to a grin. "She really likes chocolate and cuddly toy lions."

He laughed. "I will," he said again.

"And say hello from me."

"Of course," he replied, and kissed her forehead. "Come and see us with Zak."

She nodded. "And I'll look after him."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"We'll be back to help when we can," the Doctor said to both of them, shaking Zak's hand. "Just don't panic too much, okay?"

The both of them laughed as Brax stepped forward to say his good byes to them. The Master just stood there, clearly bored out of his skull. By the time it got to Jack he was actively and quite deliberately yawning, but Jack just ignored him as he hugged Zak tightly.

"I wish I could stay," Jack said seriously in low tones.

Zak's eyes widened. "You could," he said quickly.

Jack sighed, squeezing his shoulder. "I can't. Too much on Earth. But hey, look at you. Basically ruling the Universe! Big job."

Zak beamed. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I know you won't have the time for small people like me soon, but try and drop in on Earth sometimes to see me."

"You're not small," Zak said seriously.

They hit a silence, just gazing into each other's eyes. Unspoken sentences were on the tips of their tongues, but neither of them managed to get anywhere near moving their mouths to say the few precious syllables. So they just hugged, stepped back, and the Master led the procession out of the door, closing it behind them.

"Wait!" Zak suddenly yelled, the door opening again. "Jack!"

They stopped again, turning back to see Zak standing there, looking so unbelievably small and nervous. He stepped up to Jack, barely able to meet his eyes.

"... That video you showed me," he began, his voice trembling like a leaf in the wind. "You know, with the Doctor and Rose?"

Jack frowned. "Yeah...?"

"They... On the video, they did this thing where they put their faces together. Gwen told me it was kissing, and that you do it to show you love someone."

"Yeah?"

"... I'm sorry if I don't do it very well," he finished, grabbed Jack's face in both hands, and kissed him fully on the lips. For a moment Jack was so stunned he just stood there, stock still, before he finally relented to reciprocate, the feeling entirely mutual as they began a very long and very passionate snog.

"I think I'm going to vomit," the Master suddenly drawled from beside the Doctor, who was stood there with an expression on his face that was a strange combination of joy, shock, repulsion and confusion. Braxiatel looked at him and laughed chestily, leaning on his brother's shoulder.

"I don't know how to feel about this," the Doctor admitted as the two continued in front of them, deep in each other's mouths and completely lost to the outside world.

"Repulsed," the Master answered seriously.

"No, it's nice, really nice, and lovely of course," the Doctor muttered, tilting his head slightly. "But that's also my face, and my tongue is in Jack Harkness' mouth..."

Braxiatel laughed again from beside him as the two finally drew back, and Zak quickly backed away.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, making to leave at a run.

"No, Zak...!" Jack jumped forward, grabbing his arm. "That was a _very _good thing."

Zak blinked. "Really?" he asked.

"Really," Jack insisted. "Loved that."

"... Really?" was all Zak could find to say.

"Yes," Jack insisted, his grin returning. "And tell you what, when you get to Earth, I'll show you something else we can do for love too..."

"Okay, now I feel sick," the Doctor muttered.

"But you've got Ianto," Zak said quietly.

"He won't mind you joining in."

"And _now_ I'm repulsed," the Doctor finished.

"Really?" Zak said for the third time, still frozen to the spot.

Jack nodded, leant forward, and kissed his forehead. "You look after yourself, so when you come back to Earth you've got that body in one piece, right?"

"Right," Zak confirmed, a wide smile broadening on his face.

"Now go and save the Universe for me. You'll be flawless."

"... I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

"Bye," Zak muttered. Jack couldn't help but lean forward to hug and kiss him again, before Zak finally turned and left back into the control tower. Jack turned, and saw the Doctor standing there with an awkward look on his face.

"What's up, Doc?" Jack asked with a cheeky grin, bouncing to him. "Wanna snog too?"

"I have no idea what's happening," Brax admitted, scratching the back of his head.

The Doctor just sighed, took Jack's wrist and pulled off his manipulator, handing it to the Master.

"You know what to do?" the Doctor asked.

"Of course," he replied indignantly.

"This makes us even."

"No, actually," the Master replied. "I've saved your life one more time than you've saved mine. You owe me a favour."

The Doctor winced slightly. "What do you want?"

"Don't know yet," the Master mused. "I'll think of something."

He keyed in the buttons, and disappeared in a whoosh of light.

"What does that mean?" Jack asked seriously.

"Trouble," Brax answered quietly, just as the Doctor abruptly fainted on the spot. Brax and Jack only just about caught him in time, lowering him gently to the floor.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked quickly.

"He's losing energy again," Brax replied, a hand checking his brother's hearts. "Oh, Thete," he sighed.

"But he'll be okay," Jack said quickly, urgently, almost begging Braxiatel. "Maybe not 100 percent, I know. But he'll be okay."

Braxiatel looked very sombre. "... I don't know. You know how much damage it's done to him."

Jack knew what he was saying, but didn't particularly want to believe it. He just knelt down and scooped up the Doctor in both arms instead.

"Don't worry, Doc," he said sincerely to the unconscious man. "We'll get you home."

The Master reappeared in a flash of light, his hand dropping from the manipulator.

"It's done," he said, before his eyes flickered to the Doctor in Jack's arms. He didn't say a word, just held up the manipulator. In silence, everyone took hold, and with the now familiar whine and whoosh, the four disappeared from the Proclamation, heading straight back to Earth.

* * *

**A/N: **Pheewwwwww. It's finally out! Yep, they are so totally both in love with each other. I really had to keep my mouth shut about that one :o I told my proofreader at chapter 15 that this was actually a love story. She didn't believe me :D


	35. Homecoming

**A/N:** So, literally one or two chapters off the end, and quite possibly the whumpiest thing I've ever done before the end. Yeah, I have a problem. Are there support groups for people like me? :o

* * *

Chapter 35 - Homecoming

Torchwood had been dead for a week, in all senses of the word.

Jack hadn't called them at all to let them know how they were getting on, and his phone was turned off. Martha, Mickey, Gwen and Ianto had just been left in Torchwood to their own devices – wasting time, waiting for their leader to get back either with the Doctor and his family, or without them.

Martha was making herself busy at her computer near the autopsy room, doing anything to try and keep busy when she suddenly heard it. That familiar groaning, moaning sounds of outer world engines, and the feeling of warm air blowing her hair forward towards her computer screen...

It was the TARDIS.

She sat to attention, spinning around in her chair and pushing herself to her feet as the TARDIS slowly began to appear, fading in and progressively until it finally came to solid form, made a loud clunking sound, and the door squeaked open.

"Martha!" Rose yelled enthusiastically, ducking her head out. "Is he here yet?"

Martha nearly fainted on the spot. "R... Rose?"

Rose didn't seem to register her shocked stammers. "Is he here?" she asked again.

"Who?"

"The Doctor!"

"He's..." Martha had to stop to try and recalibrate her brain into trying to make this situation make sense. "... We thought you'd died!" she ended up saying.

"Me?" Rose asked in surprise, and then frowned slightly. "... Why?"

"He turned up here months ago with complete amnesia! We thought you were dead!"

"... Because he had amnesia?"

"He couldn't remember you and he couldn't feel the bond! He and Jack went to find you!"

Rose frowned some more. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, as if remembering something she'd been told. "No, that was Echo. The Doctor's meeting me here, Echo's... Look, never mind, long story. Is he here or not?"

"No..."

"Oh god," Rose muttered, hand going to her head. "No, no, no..."

"Rose! Is that you!?" Mickey exclaimed, running towards her from across the Hub. "We thought you were dead!"

"Well, clearly I'm not, so let's move on the conversation, yeah?" Rose said seriously, sounding a little bit too much like the Doctor. "What's the date?"

"What? Err... 17th May."

"Then why isn't he here?" Rose groaned, her eyes widening slightly.

"Mummy?" a voice yelled from inside the TARDIS. Rose quickly ducked back inside again.

"Leah, stay in the Tardis, look after your brother and sister, yeah?"

"But..."

"No buts! Stay there!" Rose urged, stepped out again and shut the door behind her. "Right, have you guys got a way to phone Jack?"

"His phone is turned off..."

"Rose!" It was Gwen this time. "We thought you..."

"Were dead?" Rose finished supposedly. "We need to find a way to communicate with Jack. They should be here now. Has he got his manipulator with him?"

"Rose..." Gwen began.

"Answers!?" Rose urged.

"He should do," Martha said quickly, nodding quickly.

"Right, there's gotta be somethin' in here then..." She ran off across the Hub to Mickey's desk, pulling open drawers and throwing extremely delicate and rare pieces of alien technology over her head and smashing onto the floor. "C'mon!" she urged herself.

"Rose?" Ianto asked, the last one to run forward.

"Yeah, I know, thought I was dead," she said, and then suddenly stopped at looked at the Welshman. "Yan, d'you have anythin' to make contact with Jack's manipulator?"

Ianto was clearly very used to this by now, forgetting Rose's apparent resurrection and instead launched into action. "Maybe," was all he said, and dived to another of Mickey's drawers to start his own search.

"Thank you!" she said, stepping back to let him take control as suddenly there was a flash from around the corner and strange buzzing sound.

"Rose, what the hell is goin' on?" Mickey moaned.

"Explain later!" Rose insisted, and bolted around the corner. "Jack!"

All four of the Torchwood employees joined her to find Jack standing there holding the Doctor in both arms with the Master standing beside him, and an unfamiliar well-built man with smooth, straight brown-hair touched with flecks of grey was with them. They were all covered in bruises and blood and looked utterly exhausted and in considerable pain, as they'd just travelled halfway across the Universe and twelve years into the past to land on a precise point on Earth.

Rose ignored most of this. "Doctor!" she yelled, running forward to grab him. He didn't respond, so she cradled his head in both hands.

"He's okay, just spent too much energy on saving the Universe," Jack assured her.

"Is his Tardis close by?" the new man asked suddenly, stepping forward.

Rose nodded, wasting no time in leading them straight to it, Martha in tow. They went straight in through the doors and were immediately assailed by two children.

"Daddy!" Leah yelled, but Rose quickly darted over to round them up.

"Shush, Daddy's sleepin'," she told them. "Go and play, I'll call you when he wakes up, yeah?"

Leah sighed heftily. "Okay," she said dully, took her brother's hand and led him back into the corridor.

"This way," Jack said to Brax, inclining with his head and taking them all to the infirmary.

* * *

When they got there, the strange new man immediately dived into action, linking up the Doctor to a strange kind of machine Rose had never seen before. There were silver compressors pumping and hissing, blood running through various tubes. Martha immediately took over to patch up the worst of him.

"Blood-wash. Getting rid of the muck in his blood," the man informed Rose, before he suddenly stopped talking, frowning a little. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"No," Rose replied honestly.

"This is the Doctor's brother," Jack told her, opening his mouth to continue the sentence but Rose got there first.

"You're Brax..." Rose realised, and politely stuck out a hand. "My name's Rose."

"I know," Brax replied, smiling at her and shaking her hand in return. "He's been telling me all about you."

"Same," she replied, beaming. "We thought you were dead."

"I thought _he_ was dead," Brax replied honestly.

"Where've you been?"

"Volag-Noc."

Rose's eyes seemed to brighten slightly with a sense of hope... "You were with him?"

Brax's gaze dropped to the floor. "I couldn't sense him. Not for twelve years."

The eyes left her as she swallowed, staring at him for a moment before tearing her gaze away to look at the Doctor. She stepped forward, sat on the bed next to him and took her husband's hand in both of hers with care, as it was attached to his clearly broken wrist.

"Rose?" Jack asked quietly, glancing at Brax.

"He was on his own for twelve years," was all she said.

"I know," Jack replied softly.

"_Completely _on his own."

"Not anymore," Jack answered strongly.

She nodded, almost imperceptibly, and looked up at Brax. "So we do this blood-wash, yeah? Then what?"

"Then I can fully check him over," Brax answered, resting his fingers on his brother's temple. "Going to just sink him into a light coma. It's never nice to wake up in the middle of a blood wash."

Rose nodded, and after a few seconds Brax drew his hand away.

The Master suddenly yawned loudly, stretching his arms. "Sorry to break up this endearing family moment, but I'm very hungry."

"Be quiet, Koschei," Brax said tiredly.

"Good manners cost nothing, you know," the Master replied airily.

"We'll get something in a minute," Jack said, irate. "Rose, you staying here?"

"Yeah," she replied, resigning to let go of the Doctor's hand as Martha took it to check the break in his wrist.

"Okay. Let's get some food, make a few phones calls and fill everyone in," Jack decided. "Oh, Brax, you should meet the kids. Rose, is that all right?"

"Yeah," she said again.

"Sorry, Brax, is it?" Martha suddenly asked, standing up.

Brax looked at her. "Yes?"

"I'm a doctor, can I help you at all?" she asked, eyeing the blood on his neck and shirt.

Brax smiled briefly at her. "No need, I'm very well, thank you. Look after him," he said, pointing at the Doctor.

Martha smiled at him. "I will."

"Thanks for the offer of help, I'm fine too," the Master murmured with no conviction.

Brax sighed. "Go and play outside Koschei," he said insincerely and grabbed the Master's arm, wrenching it to pull him out of the door with Jack following in a jog behind them, leaving Rose and Martha with the Doctor.

"He's all right," Martha told her, finishing up bandaging his wrist. "Mostly superficial."

Rose nodded. "Sorry if I was rude earlier."

"No, that's fine," Martha insisted. "I would've been too if I were you."

Rose smiled briefly at her. "When are you due?"

Martha looked at her, and then at her belly. "Oh, yeah," she realised, smiling slightly. "Two months."

"Scared?"

"Terrified."

Rose giggled a little. "Yeah, I know the feelin'."

Martha nodded, pausing for a moment. "... The Doctor has a brother," she finally said.

Rose looked at her expression and nearly laughed. "Yeah. Braxiatel is his big brother. Well, half-brother. He's a full-blooded Time Lord. The Doctor talks about him a lot."

"You don't really seem that surprised that he's turned up."

Rose thought about that for a moment, and then shrugged. "Gettin' used to stuff like this now," she supposed, and then laughed at her own statement. "God, I really am, aren't I?"

Martha smiled again as Rose brushed back the Doctor's hair. "I'll leave you alone," she said, getting up. "Any problems; just come and find me."

Rose finally managed to tear her eyes away from the Doctor. "Thank you. You've gotta be so confused."

"I'll get Jack to fill me in," Martha assured her. "I'll see you in a bit."

Rose was left alone, the blood-wash hissing and pumping periodically, and the sight of her husband lying there motionless – an image that was becoming far too frequent. She reached up to his face, running her fingers down his cheek with the tips of her fingers brushing through his light beard. His hair was a wreck too, grown out into utter chaos. She'd have to cut his hair and shave him later.

He was pale, thin, scarred and bruised, but she found herself feeling a little relieved. After twelve years of Volag-Noc she had expected a lot worse. She had been imagining indescribable torture, marking his body from head to toe. But he wasn't visibly scarred. Just some cracked ribs, a couple of head injuries and a broken wrist.

She manoeuvred him to take off his utterly ripped and blooded shirt and trousers, before leaving to retrieve a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. She washed him free of the blood and dirt before changing him into comfortable clothes and changing the bedsheets, careful not to move him too much.

When he was finally clean and looking comfortable, she just laid down next to him and held her Time Lord close in silence.

* * *

"So you're daddy's brother?" Leah asked twenty minutes later from across the dinner table, wide-eyed.

Braxiatel nodded. "Yes, I am."

"Are you real?"

Jack snorted with laughter as Brax blinked, surprised. "Quite sure I am," he replied.

"Are you Gallifreyan like Daddy?"

"Yes."

"I can speak Gallifreyan!" she boasted proudly, beaming.

"Really?"

"Fia! Poh'a fam'ia e'em!" she replied enthusiastically.

Brax smiled at that. "Lera min."

"When will he wake up?" Leah wondered.

"Soon," Brax assured her.

"He's just a little sick and needs to sleep," Jack told her.

Leah sighed. "He's always sick."

"Is he?" Brax asked seriously, looking at Jack.

"It's been a rough few years," Jack murmured.

"What?"

"I'll tell you later."

Brax nodded, and looked at Alex. "How old are you, Alex?"

Alex just gazed at him in silence.

Leah intervened. "He's one," she said. "He doesn't talk much."

"You were talking to us at the wedding," Jack pointed out, smiling at the little boy sat there nibbling on a carrot, still staring at Brax with those big blue non-judgemental eyes.

"He stopped again," Leah replied with a shrug.

"Since the wedding?"

"S'pose," she replied, taking her second bag of crisps. "Uncle Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you help us make Daddy a present?"

"Of course I will."

Leah reached into her pocket and produced a piece of folded paper, giving it to him. He opened it, was immediately staggered. There was a child's drawing of the sonic screwdriver in blue crayon, but bits were highlighted and things drawn on in red crayon.

Jack could hardly admit he couldn't understand it to a four-year-old and a one-year-old, so he passed it to Brax. "I think you've got more of a hand on this."

Brax smiled at him slightly before looking at it intently. "This is a technical drawing of a modified sonic device."

"Modifications for the sonic screwdriver," Jack realised, looking at the two children. "Did you do this?"

"Alex did most of it but I helped," Leah replied.

Jack's brow furrowed as he looked at Brax. "Would it work?"

Brax studied the drawing some more. "Don't see why not. Seems very well thought out."

"Let's make it happen, then," Jack said, standing up. "Uncle Brax, you wanna lend a hand?"

Brax was suddenly stunned for a moment, before eventually managing to nod. "I would very much like to," he replied, and immediately the two children were out the door in the blink of an eye.

Jack looked at his astounded expression, and grinned. "What?" he asked, but already knew.

"Uncle," Brax repeated slowly.

"Yeah," Jack said, still grinning.

"I've never been called that before."

"Like it?"

"... Yes, I do."

Jack maintained his perfect grin. "You've got plenty of time to get used to it. Are you planning to stay?"

Brax nodded. "For a while, if he'll let me."

"Of course he will," Jack replied.

"I think I need to be here anyway," Brax confessed.

"Why?"

Brax avoided answering the question directly. "I think it'll be good. For the both of us."

Jack just nodded.

"Uncle Brax, Uncle Jack!" Leah's voice yelled from the corridor. "Hurry up!"

Jack buffed his grin to full again, and lead Brax out of the door.

* * *

The Doctor was waking up. He knew he was waking up, because the feeling of pain, nausea and misery were returning in the ever-familiar waves he was now fully accustomed to, getting more and more potent with every beat of his hearts. The fire erupted into his bloodstream again, the pounding in his brain resuming as well as the feeling in his head – a feeling of utter loneliness. But something was different.

"Leah, stop pulling on his arm!" a woman's voice demanded, echoed and distant to the Doctor's muted ears. He was warm, comfortable, lying on something soft, and a finger was prodding his cheek.

"But..." a child began in protest.

"Alex! Get off of his legs! Brax, can you just pick Alex up and... _Leah! _Stop prodding his face!_"_

"But he's waking up!"

"I know he is, get off him and go outside to Uncle Jack. You can see him in a minute."

"But...!"

"I'm serious, yeah? Go out and take your brother with you!"

The Doctor slowly began to recognise the voices. It had been _so_ long since he'd heard them...

"No!" Leah's voice yelled.

"Yes!" Rose's demanded.

"No! I wanna give daddy our present!"

"You can give it to him in a bit!"

"But I wanna give it to him _nooow!"_

"Oh for god's sake... Brax! Help me out here!"

"... How?" Brax's voice asked seriously.

"Hey, you two," Jack's voice came from across the room. "Get out here."

"Why!?" Leah wanted to know.

"Because in roughly ten seconds Daddy will wake up and him and Mommy are going to start doing some icky kissing."

"Ewww!" Leah said loudly, and that was quickly followed by the sound of two pairs of small feet running across the room, fading away until the door closed.

"... Are they normally like that...?" Brax asked.

"Drop in the ocean, mate," Rose replied seriously, and a hand rested on the Doctor's cheek. "Hey, comin' back to me?"

He moaned a little, easing open his eyes and blinking a few times until the blurriness receded and he found himself staring at a beautiful blonde woman leaning over him with a huge, unbreakable smile on her face.

"Hello," he said, a smile slowly widening.

"Hello," she responded, and immediately followed it with launching onto him in a bone-crunching bear-hug. She then commenced snogging the life out of him without a care for Braxiatel still sitting there next to them. "Oh God, I love you, I love you, I love you," she repeated over and over again between kisses, squeezing him so hard his innards were probably close to popping out of his mouth. He couldn't help his own response – less psychological and more biological as he responded with a hug just as hard and snogging just as relentless. She continued to kiss him with an undying passion with her tongue in every nanometre of his mouth, before running her hands through his hair and grabbing his face in both hands.

"Lemme look properly," she said quickly, running her fingers over his face. His head was suddenly thrown back and forth as she turned it every conceivable way his neck would allow, pulling up his eyelids with her thumbs to check his eyes, opening his mouth and looking inside, even pulling back his nostrils to check up his nose. Then she reverted back to snogging him again, her arms snaked around his neck with a good fistful of hair in each hand, as if to confirm he was physically there.

"Never, _ever _do that again," Rose berated him when she'd finally unglued her mouth from his. "_Never ever!"_

The Doctor tried to say something but she was grabbing his face again in such a way his lips were pouted quite badly. Then she kissed his neck before burying her face in it, her arms still wrapped around his face and neck. He didn't struggle, just laid there in her embrace with her kneeling on the bed next to him, revelling in the feeling of her single heartbeat against his chest, echoing inside him as though physically part of him.

"Miss me?" he supposed.

She giggled and kissed him again. "Nah," she responded, blasé.

He laughed at that, and held on tightly. "Where are the kids?" he asked.

"Two seconds," she said, and turned to the door. "Come in!"

Immediately the door flew open and Leah, Alex and Jack holding Kiana came bounding in.

"Daddy!" Leah shrieked in high enough pitch to summon bats, running forward to climb onto the bed, jumping onto his chest and hugging his neck. He was instantly winded, but didn't really care as she kissed his cheek, beaming her beautiful little smile. Jack lifted Alex onto the bed beside his Dad. "We got you a present!"

The Doctor suddenly found a box thrust into his hands, wrapped in blue paper. He frowned a little, pulled away the wrapping paper and opened the box.

Inside was his sonic screwdriver, but something was very different. It was the same screwdriver silver in its structure, but now gold-plated with metallic blue accents, a segmented middle with an extra button and a horizontal slider on the side. There were a few extra things attached to the side, and it was so polished the glare from it was nearly blinding.

He picked it up, and gazed at it in utter astonishment. Leah immediately snatched it out of his hands.

"This button is for deadlocks," Leah told him informatively, pressing down on one of the new buttons. The blue end erupted in the familiar blue light, but the buzzing was at a lower pitch. "And this slider thing brings out stuff."

She drew her thumb across the slider, the middle rotated, and out popped a toothbrush. She pulled her thumb along a little more and a jelly baby fell out of the end onto the bed covers. She beamed a little more, and held the sonic back to him.

The Doctor just stared, picking up the jelly baby and eating it as he took back the sonic and ran his fingers along it. He looked at Brax, who smiled a little and nodded to Alex.

"Thank you, that's utterly brilliant," the Doctor said sincerely, hugging the both of them close. "Oh, I missed you two."

"We missed you too, Daddy," Leah said, kissing him on the cheek. "Three days is forever!"

The Doctor choked out a laugh, kissing them both in turn. "Yeah. Three days is forever."

The door suddenly burst open.

"You!" Jackie roared, stampeding over to them. Everyone quickly got out of the way as she reached him, grabbed him, and began to suffocate him in a hug. "Oh sweetheart, look at you!" she exclaimed, brushing him down. "Rose told me everythin'! Why are you _always_ doin this to yourself!? You're bloody impossible! And you're so bloody thin! I mean, even more than usual! And your hair is a mess! When the hell was the last time you shaved properly!?"

She drew back to look at him, surprised to find him completely silent, his eyes wide.

"Why are you lookin' at me like that?"

The Doctor swallowed slightly, glancing at Rose who was stood there, smirking. "Sorry... Who are you?"

Jackie's face slowly began to turn...

"I'm joking!" the Doctor said quickly, grinning. "Hello, Jackie."

Jackie instantly fumed, her eyes narrowing. "God if I didn't think I'd break you I'd smack you, you..." She struggled to censor her next word. "... You alien!"

"Jackie Tyler, Mother in Law," Jack murmured loudly to Braxiatel, who was looking very confused.

"I see," Brax muttered, glancing at his brother who grinned.

"Who are you?" Jackie asked seriously, turning to Brax.

Brax immediately initiated his charm offence. "Braxiatel," he replied, smiling with oozing charisma. "I'm the Doctor's brother. One hundred percent real, before you ask."

"Oh, thank god, my grandkids will finally have a proper bloody uncle!" she realised. "Alien, right?"

"Afraid so," Brax answered.

Jackie looked him up and down for a moment, musing. "You're not a bad lookin' bunch, are ya?"

"Mum!" Rose squeaked.

"What, I can't try the brother?"

"Just... stop talkin'!" Rose begged, still squeaking. Brax just stood there, utterly confused by what had just happened.

Jackie rolled her eyes and looked back at the Doctor. "Have you eaten yet, sweetheart?" The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but Jackie quickly made up his mind for him. "Right, I'll get you somethin'," she finished, and was gone in a flash.

The Doctor just raised his eyebrows slightly, and then looked at Rose. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About twelve hours," Rose replied. "Just enough time to get you guys cleaned up and fed and fill everyone in about what happened."

The Doctor's eyebrows lowered. "So they know about..."

"Yeah, they know about Volag-Noc," she said, anticipating his question. "Expect a lot of grapes and fuss."

The Doctor gave a half-smile at that, but it quickly faded.

"What's Volag-Noc?" Leah suddenly asked.

Rose glanced at the Doctor. His eyes had very quickly hollowed. "A planet," she replied shortly.

"Can we go there?" Leah asked excitedly.

"God no," Rose muttered, hugging her husband tight. He had suddenly become very cold and unresponsive.

"Guys, I think we should go and help granny, don't you?" Jack suddenly said to Leah and Alex, looking at the Doctor and Rose.

"But..." Leah began in protest again.

"We can spend all the time in the world with him in a bit," Jack insisted. "Let's give mom and dad some time alone."

"Oh, okay," Leah replied. Rose shot Jack a grateful smile, still holding onto her husband.

"But I need to check him over," Braxiatel said, seemingly completely oblivious to what was happening right in front of him.

"We can do it later," Jack dismissed. "You wanted to get to know the family. Come and meet Jackie Tyler, if you dare."

"All right," Brax conceded, and together they all left out of the door.

Rose checked the door was fully closed before she repositioned herself on the bed, cross-legged beside him with her hand on his face.

"Tell me absolutely everythin'," she said gently.

So he did.

* * *

**A/N: **Translation:

Fia! Poh'a fam'ia e'em – Yes, Daddy taught me

Lera min – Very good


End file.
